The Philosophy of Rational Happiness
I believe that there is a universal reality that we are all apart of. Reality does not exist because we perceive, we perceive because reality exists. In order to understand reality we must use at least two basic means of reason — logic and sense. The two should never contradict and should be used to compliment each other.
Our purpose in life is that which we choose. I’m a Christian existentialist. At first this sounds contradictory, but given some thought it reasons out perfectly. I believe that man should find his purpose in life, and act accordingly. How to determine one’s purpose? Happiness.
Happiness is the emotional response to the achievement of one’s values. People who win the lottery experience at least temporary happiness because they valued the lottery.* People who love others achieve happiness through treating others as though they love them. It is not wrong to achieve one
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Daniel said,
February 11th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hey Shaun great to see you at the open.
Great post, I really like your point that to create a consistent value system, even a Christian one, you must be selfish in some way. I’ve always had such a hard time explaining that idea of Rand to others.
David Personius said,
February 11th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Happiness is the emotional response to the achievement of one
Shaun Connell said,
February 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am
David,
Exactly. As I read the Atlas Shrugged, I was a bit confused as to how it was contrary, at least ideologically, to scriptural principles. I was told that it was — but an objective look at what is really taught in scriptures shows that there isn’t a contradiction. Self-love is a prerequisite to the love of others.
David,
Some values are objective and some are subjective.
The foundational value is, of course, the maximization of one’s potential. The only way for this to be an absolute value is if there is an absolute standard for potential. This standard is, of course, existential — meaning that men technically “choose”* the values.
If there is a value (and consequently a morality) that is not relative to whim, it must obviously be because man has an inherent standard built into his mind.
That said, to make sure there is no confusion, I believe that man is inherently prone to /not/ enjoy Hell. So threat of Hellfire is a great starting point to the formulation of values.
Lydia said,
February 24th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
“Man should find his purpose in life, and act accordingly. How to determine one
Shaun Connell said,
February 24th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Well, it’s impossible to be happy in hell, so I agree that rationally one should follow Christ. This is why God appeals to our fear of hell — not much profit in hell.
As to happiness being a side benefit, I think there’s simply a misunderstanding by what I mean by happiness. Philosophy is a messy discussion, and often uses words in a different manner than typically meant. In this context, happiness means the achievement of what one wants. So we pursue God because we /want/ to, meaning God is part of our code.