Recent orders
Is positive psychology the recipe of a real happiness
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Is positive psychology the recipe for real happiness?
Martin Seligman’s “The understanding of happiness and wellbeing” is based on the application of positive psychology. Known for his stance on the application of positive psychology, Seligman’s theory claims that the reenactment of positive psychology is the main source of achieving complete happiness. This theory has been supported and opposed by both professionals and interested parties in this area of expertise. Positive psychology is one of the areas of psychology that has been used to solve several worldly issues. This has in turn led to the critical analysis of Seligman’s theory which touches on how to achieve real happiness. Seligman’s change in his stance on the notion of real happiness has brought about several arguments on whether the application of his new theory produces effective results.
The purpose of this paper is to formulate arguments that are based on three claims made in the book by the author. The paper will state a proposed theory and provide an analysis of the text in question through the use of quotes in the book. According to the nature of the topic, there is no wrong and right answer. The evidence is thus based on alterative views that may support or oppose the notion in general.
Real happiness is defined by having wellbeing. Wellbeing is the observation of happiness, piece of mind, excellent health and security in all aspects of life. For one to be content with their life, they need to acquire an attitude that gears them towards achieving well being. It is impossible to lead a life that does not have challenges. It is thus essential for individuals to learn how to balance their challenges with their achievements. Seligman had initially based his whole argument on happiness. Over the years, this notion is no longer holds much weight due to his introduction of new factors to the equation.
“If you remove unhappiness from a patient, you do not get a happy patient; rather you get an empty patient”.
Seligman’s conduction of further research led to his contradiction of his own work by introducing new laws that allow for happiness to prevail. The psychologist’s latest research involves the integration of four factors namely: positive energy, engagement in ones activities, accomplishment, good relationships. For one to be able to experience true happiness, they have to encompass all these qualities as a whole. If an unhappy person eliminates the factor that is causing them to be unhappy, they reduce the source of their unhappiness. This does not necessarily mean that they have been rid of their unhappiness. There are other factors that make a human beings life have more meaning. This theory has been summed up by the use of PERMA. The possession of all these qualities forms the recipe for real happiness.
Positive feelings attract positive results. Positive feelings involve generating goodwill upon when confronted with various situations in life. This theory states that individuals should look at a glass half full as opposed to half empty. If a person is filled with positive thoughts, they adopt a mindset that encourages them to work toward achieving what they intend to achieve vice versa. The world is full of hardships and trials. It is easy to lose focus due to the number of curve balls that are thrown at human beings on a daily basis.
“Positive feelings about a person or an object get us to approach it, while negative feelings get us to avoid it”.
If people approach these difficult situations with a negative perspective in mind, they are most likely to fall prey to more challenging situations. Despite the fact that some challenges may be a lot to handle, people are not encouraged to give up. Seligman states that each individual has a chance to make good of their situation. This however, depends on whether individuals are positive or negative about a particular situation. The analysis of one of the pivotal quotes of the book assists a reader to objectify the significance of maintaining a positive approach to life. If an individual projects positive energy towards their friends, family and peers, they attract people who view life the same way. This in turn, attracts positive outcomes that would have been impossible to attain without positive energy.
Happiness is not the only principle that gives life meaning. One of the reasons for the practice of psychology is the search for happiness and fulfillment. As human beings, one of the main goals of an individual is to live one’s life to the utmost satisfaction. By achieving this factor one stands to generate happiness which is the result of an individual’s accomplishments. Over the years, new research has begun to dispute this eliminating happiness as the only factor that brings fulfillment in one’s life. The author states that their needs to be a combination of many attributes in order to acquire the real meaning in life. Some of the attributes that are essential in this case is tolerance, creativity positive feelings and being intellectual.
“By activating an expansive, tolerant and creative mindset, positive feelings maximize the social, intellectual and physical benefits that will accrue”.
Despite the hardships that life may presented to human beings. It is essential to change ones approach on any unwelcome situation. Seligman mentions that the choice to be happy is an individual choice. No one can make that decision for us. One of the ways in which this factor can be achieved is through engaging and surrounding oneself with people who poses these virtues. Being exposed to such qualities ensures that we enforce them in or day to day lives. This notion has however, received an enormous amount of criticisms from both professional and personal points of views. Some critics have given examples of communities that do not place emphasis on achievement. Such communities rely on pleasing their neighbors, families and friends which in turn is reciprocated. The need to be successful in other aspects of life is not a priority. The things that matter in this case are being satisfied with the simple things in life such as family and friends. Other achievements are thus secondary to in that they are not as essential. Although Seligman has mentioned happiness as one of the practices that are geared towards a meaningful life, he states that this quality needs to be complimented with other factors such as professional achievements.
Each culture has a different definition of happiness. This means that wheat may be viewed as happiness cannot be viewed as happiness in another cultural setting. A look at most of the western countries shows that they place priority in different accomplishments. Such accomplishments can be academic, social status, political and athletics. According to Seligman, it is significant to accomplish some of these factors so that an individual can achieve true happiness. These factors can only be achieved by applying positive psychology when undertaking them. This argument however does not address cultures that do not place emphasis on happiness alone. Ignoring these cultures implies that they are not happy due to the fact that they do not value other worldly views.
In conclusion, to flourish is to achieve in all aspects of life. Human beings take most of their time striving to accomplish true happiness. This is one of the most difficult concepts to apply in life due to life’s nature to challenge human beings on a daily basis. The search for true happiness has been taken on by different people who have made it priority to investigate on these phenomena. Seligman is one of the people who have taken initiative in providing information on how to achieve real happiness. Known as the guru of positive thinking, Seligman’s latest work eliminates placing emphasis on happiness alone. He introduces new ideas by applying alternative concepts to the equation. One of the concepts is the application of positive energy to an individual’s daily activities. This theory has been analyzed by several parties who have either proposed or opposed the notion. The issue on whether Seligman’s book is applicable to different cultures is yet to be determined. Although some of these concepts are impractical in those different cultures have different takes on their position on happiness. It is ideal to note that positive energy is indeed a determining factor in moving forward in life.
Works cited
Seligman, Martin E. P. Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. New York: Free Press, 2011. Print.
Whenever Franny felt like the world was not being fair to her, zooey always told her.
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Introduction
Whenever Franny felt like the world was not being fair to her, zooey always told her. Do it for the first lady. The fat lady being referred to was a lady in a teaching their older brother Seymour had taught them. The meaning of do it for the fat lady was, do it as everyone deserves some respect. Reason for the saying was because Franny and Zooey had so much expectation that the world would provide for them, but in actual sense, they had the power to change the world.
Seymour always wanted the best for Franny and Zooey. When he told them to do it for the fat lady, Franny and Zooey pictured the most obsessed, ugliest woman they could think of in their minds. In this way no matter what both Franny and Zooey did. They imagined that if they could do something for a fat and ugly woman then they could do the same to anyone. Without his knowledge, Seymour had ruined the children. Franny had excelled as a young lady; she always expected to be the best in everything. When she eventually enrolled in college, she learned that everything was not about success unlike in her family. She also learned that learned that she was always hypercritical of every one she knew even on small faults as she always everyone to be the best.
Zooey was the worst affected by the teachings from Seymour. He ended up being too smart for his own good and was very much aware of that. He never took jokes and would answer back rudely; he always expected the best performance from everybody just like he was. Within his family that was acceptable as they were all used to that because they were all smart. Outside the family circles, Zooey found out that not everybody was as bright as his siblings, or was as willing to do something for anyone. That made him bitter. Seymour’s death through suicide had a great impact on Zooey’s social life; to him Seymour meant everything to him. He was his key mentor, Guidant. He had just started his life as an adult and had to make decisions, but there was nobody to look up to for advice. According to Zooey nobody else was able to love him more than Seymour; he had always given him good advice, and guidance. Seymour always followed his own advice, and that is why Zooey loved him. When he looked around and could not find someone like Seymour he was devastated. He had no idea of where to go. He now stays with his parents.
Conclusion
So as, to understand, and examine the fat lady perception further, Zooey relates the fat lady idea to that of Christ, when trying to encourage Franny when she felt as the world was being unfair to her. Many are taught that Christ is love and people should emulate Christ loves for us. So if, people treat one another like Christ the world could be one lovely place. Seymour’s philosophy was really a good idea, only that it was not successful with Zooey, and Franny, but if it were to be applied, there would be no fighting as nobody would harm another in that worldwide peace would reign on earth forever.
Social origins of dictatorship
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Introduction
The shaping of societies in the past is responsible for the arrangement of the current society that we live in today. There are many factors that led to the growth and developments of all economic societies. Social origins explain the systems that countries practiced so that the countries could advance as a result. Some of the systems that played a significant role in the shaping of the communities were the agrarian and industrial revolution. These systems took place all over the world from the time of the ancient days to the advancement of technology (Moore, Friedman and Scott, p. 1-124).
The purpose of this paper is to apply the ideas or Barrington Moore’s book social origins of dictatorship and democracy to the book of master and lord’s mid-19th century Planters and Prussian Junkers. The paper will provide a summary of both books and their role in the political, social and economic aspects of the society. Barrington Moore will later be applied to the book of masters and lords. The paper will thus provide a concluding paragraph that will summarize the contents of the whole book.
Social origins of dictatorship
Barrington Moore’s book is one of the most recognized comparative books in the fields of political, social and economic arrangement. The book talks about the country’s political and democratic influences. One of the themes of the book states that the political systems are derived from the existence of the agrarian and industrial revolution. Based on the 8 influential countries in terms of their political roles at this time, the book divides the transformation into three phases which define the major periods.
The book looks at the social system in these respective countries and the role of different social groups. The society is divided into the wealthy and influential and the peasant who are not as influential. Different classes play different roles in the society contributing to the organization of the economy. The social classes were brought about by the transformation from a less complex system to the agrarian system. The agrarian system was defined by the adaptation of agriculture as the main contributor to the economy. This involved the practice of farming so as to produce enough produce for the country and export. This in turn improved the countries social, political and economic position. This led to the division of roles in society in that the peasants were responsible for the provision of labor. This left the upper class to run the country by providing policies that would fuel more production. The agrarian revolution was essential for the development of the countries as a whole.
Despite this, the system proved to have its disadvantages. The system was not enough of to finance the countries which demanded more funds due to the rate of growth. The agrarian revolution paved the way for the industrial revolution in that the use of the farming equipment brought about more inventions and innovations. When the world wars took center stage, the countries realized the need for arms and ammunition. This led to the creation of industries that were defined by machines which were used to ease the workload of human beings. The industrial revolution was a great determinant in the way countries organized themselves in all aspects. The creation of industries changed the dynamics of the political system of the world as a whole. Many countries invested in mechanical knowhow so as to further develop their countries by building infrastructure and financing their armies. This set apart the world powers from the rest of the world in that they had authority to influence their ideologies to the rest of the world. Industrial revolution led to the divide of the world powers into two groups. Some of the countries were in support of the socialist system that while others were in support for a democratic way of life. The Americans advocated for democracy which was defined by the giving the society power to choose the leader they preferred. It also allowed for the creation of more than one political party in that the society had the choice to choose from more than one leader. The socialist system on the other hand, was defined by the rule of the nation by one party state eliminating the possibility of having more than one party. The society did not have the opportunity to elect their leader due to the political arrangement that was in place. The two different sided used their power and influence to spread their ideologies to different parts of the world like Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The agrarian and industrial systems of organization played a significant role in determining this factor. The agrarian system contributed to the formation of industries in different parts of the world. This in turn was marked by the invention and innovation of several machines which triggered further indusial development (Moore, Friedman and Scott, p. 1-456).
Analysis of the book of masters and lords
One of the main themes of the book is the difference of the economic systems that were practiced in the north and the southern states of America. The south had invested a lot in their agricultural industries that were defined by cotton and sugar plantations. This system had proved to be very successful to these states in that most of their labor came at a low cost. At this time, slavery had taken centre stage in that all the farmers owned slaves who worked in the farms. The south was intent on maintain this system due to its profitability. This situation was however different the northern states form in that they were intent on moving to the industrial system which involved the use of machines and the development of infrastructure.
The conflict of interest resulted in the occurrence of the civil war that was marked by the separation of the confederate states form the rest of the country. This resulted to the change of the dynamics of the economy of the country. The slavery laws were abolished paving way for the introduction of a new system of governance that recognized the rights of all individuals. The situation in the south is one of the examples that display the capitalism in America. The use of the slave indicated taking advantage of the ordinary man so as a small minority could gain.
One of the arguments concerning the early economy is whether the slavery shaped the economy of the southern states. The southerners argue that they had alternative industries that fueled the development of the states apart from the profitable slave trade. One of the factors responsible for the industrialization was the emergence of the world wars. The wars were defined by the use of arms and ammunition during the battles introducing a new phase in the economy and political system (Bowman, p. 1-357).
Application of social origins of dictatorship to the book of masters and lords
Both books have similarities in that they all display the formation of the early political, social and economic systems. What sets the books apart from each other is the mention of the social origin of different countries in the world. Most of the societies have been shaped through different occurrences in the case of the first book. This is owed to the different structure that the countries adopted. The first book concentrates on social dictatorship and which was mainly carried out by the economic systems such as the agrarian revolution and the industrial revolution. Majority of the peasants were placed under the authority of the masters through the arrangement of the land system that limited growth on the part of the peasants.
In the case of dictatorship, countries that adopted this system had no democracy in the country as a whole. The power is reserved for the powerful minority thus reducing the chances of the citizens to voice their opinion. This system applied to countries like the USSR and the democratic republic of china. Both the countries were a one party state. Such countries selected leaders who had absolute authority and could not be challenged. Moore compares this system to the one of democracy that was adopted by countries from the western sides. As mentioned earlier, the western world is responsible adopting the ideologies that encouraged democracy. Although democracy had its advantages, it was also responsible for the mismanagement of the community. Democracy encouraged capitalist systems that were favored by the wealthy. The capitalist were in control of most of the assets in the country. One of the ways that this system affected the growth of the country was the creation of different social classes. The people who owned the land and property used their power to make more money. This was done at the expense of the peasants in that they were responsible for the provision of cheap labor.
The book of masters and lords, concentrates on America as opposed to the systems of other countries. Masters and lords looks at the difference economic systems of both the north and the south. In the initial stages of the settlement of the British settlers, the preferred way of developing the country was through agriculture. This proved to be profitable in that it led to the invention and innovation of new ideas and machines. As America begun to interact with the rest of the world, it was evident that technology had begun to take centre stage. The south was predominantly known for their support of capitalism. This is similar to the ideas of Moore who emphasized the role of the south in the adaptation of democracy as a principle law.
Masters and lords concentrates on slavery and the role it played in the growth of the American republic. Slavery was categorized as an agrarian system in that the economy was highly reliant on the produce. Moore mentions the agrarian system in other countries where slavery was not practiced. For such countries to be productive, they took advantage of the peasants for very little pay. Both books thus bring out the effectiveness of the social classes and how the wealthy took advantage of the poor to improve on their wealth.
In conclusion, society has gone through a number of phases for it to have reached where it is today. This is owed to the different economic systems that were adopted at the time. All these systems had their advantages and disadvantages in that the wealthy took advantage of the peasants so as to improve their wealth. The shaping of the society ensures for the creation of social classes. The first book talks about democracy and dictatorship as a factor that shaped the world as a whole. The second book talks about how the economic system of the south and how it contribute to the growth of America. Both books are thus essential in that they display how history contributed to the way the societies are arranged in present day.
Works cited
Bowman, Shearer D. Masters & Lords: Mid-19th-century Us Planters and Prussian Junkers. New York, NY u.a: Oxford Univ. Press, 1993. Print.
Moore, Barrington, Edward Friedman, and James C. Scott. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. Print.