My Friends Tell Me That I Have

Is Happiness Really The Only Thing We Should Be Aiming For?

Happiness Refers To Feelings, Virtue Refers To Actions, And Those Actions Can Cause Those Feelings. But Not Necessarily And Not Exclusively.

We All Have Direct Experience With Things That Do Or Don't Make Us Happy, We All Have Friends, Therapists, Cabdrivers, And Talk-show Hosts Who Tell Us About Things That Will Or Won't Make Us Happy, And Yet, Despite All This Practice And All This Coaching, Our Search For Happiness Often Culminates In A Stinky Mess. We Expect The Next Car, The Next House, Or The Next Promotion To Make Us Happy Even Though The Last Ones Didn't And Even Though Others Keep Telling Us That The Next Ones Won't.

If I Wanted To Know What A Certain Future Would Feel Like To Me, I Would Find Someone Who Is Already Living That Future. If I Wonder What It's Like To Become A Lawyer Or Marry A Busy Executive Or Eat At A Particular Restaurant, My Best Bet Is To Find People Who Have Actually Done These Things And See How Happy They Are.

Arthritic Toothless People Who Love Orgasms Are More Likely To Reproduce Than Are Limber, Toothy People Who Do Not.