Does Happiness Lie Between Ignorance and Bliss?

Do smart people think too much to be happy? Can we be intelligent enough to be blissful?

It was written by Thomas Gray, in 1742, that ignorance is bliss. He suggested that it is a "folly to be wise" and that thought often destroys "paradise". Do smart people, in the simple act of contemplating their happiness, actually sabotage it? Can we balance being intelligent with being happy?

Must We Choose?

We have all seen couples in which the faithful partner remains in an extended state of denial, while nearly everyone else around them knows about the cheater’s misdeeds. Despite often obvious signs, the loyal partner will move through life, acting as if nothing is wrong. Once the infidelity is exposed, the injured party says that they "should have seen the signs", admitting that the signs were evident from the start.

We often choose to live in fantasy, rather than deal with an unwelcome reality. But with intelligence, we cannot sustain an illusion for the truth for very long. The burden of having a brain requires us to use it. While enjoying ignorance over the state of our love life, financial situation, or even our own personal character, may be more comfortable, we usually crash into the wall of truth, sooner or later. Unfortunately, the longer we have allowed ignorance to rule our view of things, the more painful that crash tends to be. Are intelligence and happiness mutually exclusive states of being?

Our National Perspective on Happiness

The most recent World Value’s Survey (WVS), conducted by the University of Michigan, ranks the United States at 15 on a subjective well-being scale compared to other nations. Puerto Rico is number one on that list. The interesting thing about national opinions on happiness is that the countries that rate highest on the happiness scale are often low on global literacy rate scales. Admittedly, comparing these statistics is like comparing doughnuts and cheesecake, there does seem to be an indication that intelligence does not create happiness. Ernest Hemmingway wrote: "happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know". It is common knowledge that genius often borders insanity. Sadly, many of our truly great minds end their lives tragically. It is possible that the more educated we are, the more elusive the feeling of happiness becomes.

Self-Actualization and Intelligence

Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) developed the Hierarchy of Needs Theory, which states that human beings must first fulfill their basic needs (i.e. food, shelter, safety) before they can begin to conceptualize higher concepts such as responsibility, reputation, and fulfillment. So while cavemen may have felt satisfied to be sitting by a warm fire with full bellies, their state is not what we more evolved humans usually define as happiness. Maslow thought that few people ever experience the "moments of profound happiness and harmony" that come from being completely self-actualized.

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Happiness Lies in the Middle

Perhaps true happiness, defined differently for all of us, lies somewhere between total ignorance and high-level aptitude. A study by the University of Edinburgh (2005) found no correlation between "brains and happiness". They concluded that intelligent people are better equipped to provide for themselves, but are often unfulfilled with what they have achieved, continuing to strive further. Less educated people are more likely to be preoccupied with filling their basic needs, but feel satisfaction once accomplished.

Happiness may be only after all, a matter of individual perspective, something immeasurable. If it is true that ignorance is bliss, intelligent people can at least take solace in the fact that knowledge is power. The solution would seem to be smart enough to use that power to build a life that is absolutely blissful.