This article explores the definition and criteria of happiness, analyzing modern life based on subjective feelings and objective criteria. In particular, it discusses the impact of the Industrial Revolution on time, space, and spirit, and discusses the possibility of happiness in the modern world.
Is being happy simply about feeling good? People often use pleasure as a measure of happiness. But is it possible to define happiness in life by feeling good? We need to explore a deeper meaning of happiness, because the moment we seek pleasure, the feeling is temporary and fades quickly. So, what is the definition of happiness other than pleasure? To explore this question further, we can turn to part 4 of Yuval Harari’s Sapiens. Harari divides happiness into subjective and objective criteria.
To start with, the subjective perspective can be divided into two main categories: hedonic and emotional. The hedonic perspective literally means that happiness is measured by the magnitude and duration of a pleasurable feeling. The idea is that people’s biochemical systems can be manipulated to produce high levels of happiness over a period of time. For example, when we eat delicious food or have a pleasurable experience, we feel instantaneous happiness, but it’s a fleeting feeling that is limited in its duration. The perspective of emotions is similar, but slightly different. It’s the idea that happiness is based on a sense of meaning in life. We make value judgments about certain behaviors, and as a result, we find meaning and value in our lives. This kind of happiness is deeper, more lasting, and requires a more holistic view of life.
The problem with both of these perspectives, however, is that they rely on subjective criteria and can be justified on the grounds that doing something that isn’t right can make you happy. For example, a person may feel temporarily happy by earning money through illegal means, but it’s questionable whether that happiness is genuine. This has led some to suggest that there should be an objective measure of happiness. Among these opinions are the views of religion and philosophy, and Sapiens introduces the Buddhist perspective in particular.
The Buddhist view is that happiness does not depend on emotions. It sees emotions as nothing more than ever-changing, fleeting fluctuations, and the endless pursuit of these fleeting emotions as pointless and causing suffering. Happiness can only be achieved by understanding the impermanent nature of all emotions and finding your true self. Buddhism seeks true happiness through inner equanimity and peace of mind, something that is often overlooked by many in the modern world. In other words, we can reach true happiness when we listen to our inner feelings, not external conditions.
Does this mean that external factors don’t affect happiness? When we talk about external factors, we can think of our living environment. And one of the most influential events in our lives is the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a technological revolution that began in England in the mid-18th century, and the accompanying changes in social and economic structures. This revolution was more than just a technological advancement; it led to profound changes in all aspects of people’s lives. The Industrial Revolution led to the emergence of numerous machines based on technological innovation, which not only changed the physical environment of people, but also their mental environment, such as their way of thinking and value judgment, resulting in social structural changes.
As mentioned earlier, the Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on human life. First, the development of machinery made the physical environment more convenient for humans, as machines took over repetitive tasks that were previously performed by humans. This significantly reduced people’s working hours and increased their leisure time, and with the increase in leisure time, various technologies for human entertainment emerged. With the development of these technologies, our concept of space has changed. The Industrial Revolution led to the development of machines that made it possible to travel long distances without the use of human feet. In addition, barriers between countries began to break down, bringing the once-separated East and West closer together and allowing them to embrace each other’s cultures.
The Industrial Revolution changed not only the idea of space, but also the idea of time. With the advent of machines, especially conveyor belts, people were forced to work on one task over and over again. To prevent this from happening, everyone had to follow exactly the same timetable: they arrived at the factory at the same time, ate at the same time, and left at the same time. These timetables began to spread throughout society, and even places without assembly lines and machines began to be timetabled. Public transportation was one of the most popular applications of timetables, as the spread of timetables meant that people needed to be on public transportation at precise times to get to work at precise times. These timetables eventually led to the British government establishing standard time based on the Greenwich Observatory, and they were integrated into a global time network.
So, the Industrial Revolution drastically changed our perception of time and space. But did it only have a positive impact on people? It’s hard to say. First of all, it had a huge impact on the mental aspect of people. Workers were forced to perform the same tasks all day, every day, as if they were machines, and this wore down the human spirit. Also, with the onset of urbanization and industrialization, people became less interested in each other’s lives, which led to the problem of human alienation. In addition to this, the development of machines destroyed the environment, and capitalists began to exploit workers using machines, further widening the gap between rich and poor. These issues remain unresolved in modern society.
As you can see, the Industrial Revolution changed human life, both positively and negatively. So, based on the above definition of happiness, can we say that modern life after the industrial revolution is happy? First of all, modern people have more choices than in the past, which means that they have more possibilities for both happiness and unhappiness. However, the fact that there are more possibilities is not enough to determine whether a modern person is happy. It is difficult to know whether the increase in the number of possibilities for happiness or the increase in the number of possibilities for unhappiness is greater because each person has different subjective criteria for happiness and unhappiness. Therefore, it is necessary to judge modern people’s happiness in combination with other criteria for happiness.
Other aspects of happiness include differences in ideas about the meaning and value of life. As mentioned in the previous section on happiness, different people place different values on certain behaviors, and therefore, different behaviors are considered meaningful. One example of this is the idea of one’s job. A scientist believes that his life is meaningful because he increases human knowledge, while an architect believes that his life is meaningful because he creates buildings for people to live in. In other words, everyone has a different idea of what a job is, and everyone has their own definition of meaningful behavior and lives their lives according to that definition. If we look at modern people based on these examples, we certainly have more choices than in the past, and therefore more activities that we consider meaningful. This means that there is more room for happiness, and many people are more likely to experience more happiness in their daily lives.
In conclusion, modern happiness has changed in both positive and negative ways since the Industrial Revolution. With more choices, people can pursue different ways of life, and there is a lot of potential for happiness. At the same time, however, issues such as labor marginalization and the gap between the rich and poor remain unresolved, and these can be obstacles to modern happiness. Therefore, we need to recognize and address these issues to create a society where more people can experience happiness.
