Pleasure and Happiness: The Other Side of the Coin
A basic aspect of the human experience, happiness is something that people have sought after for ages. The brain and happiness have a complicated and nuanced relationship. By demonstrating that happiness is a phenomena that arises from the interaction of environmental, social, and psychological elements rather than only a biological reaction, neuroscience aids in our understanding of this relationship.
Does a happy brain function differently than an unhappy brain, then? We take a close look at how a happy brain functions in this article.
Ever since Aristotle, happiness has been commonly linked to a minimum of two elements: enjoyment (hedonia) and significance (eudaimonia). These elements are typically referred to as meaning and pleasure in modern psychology, but a third element that is linked to feelings of involvement and connection has lately been proposed.
Using these components, scientists have made great strides in defining and quantifying happiness. These include figuring out how different life events affect happiness, identifying the distribution of happiness in the real world, and self-reporting relative well-being. These surveys do, nonetheless, offer markers of mental health; they have not, yet, demonstrated the neurological underpinnings of happiness 1.
Over the past ten years, substantial progress has been made in our knowledge of the psychology and neurology of sensory pleasure. Because of these developments, a scientific investigation of the pleasure-focused component of happiness has become possible, shedding light on its brain basis.
Life has always been guided by the requirements and benefits of survival and procreation. People are able to consciously enjoy the benefits and pleasures that come from having their needs met. Our species has an advantage because humans are able to consciously forecast and anticipate the effects of sophisticated decisions and actions, yet this ability may also be dangerous because it can lead to unintended consequences.
Concerns and the obligations that come with consciousness accompany awareness. These cognitive capacities are referred to by author John Steinbeck as the "tragic miracle of consciousness." Stated differently, he highlights that individuals are in a state of constant development and are receptive to growth and change. Steinbeck is also in favour of the notion that every person has the capacity to choose their own fate. 1.
Although consciousness gives us the ability to feel wants, joys, and possibly even happiness, consciousness is ultimately a limited experience. catastrophic events can occur in life, but occasionally something incredibly positive can lead to even more catastrophic outcomes.
Even seemingly bad things might occasionally teach us how to make the most of our circumstances and pursue our happiness. Thus, it's critical to recognise and seize life's positive aspects. However, happiness can be an uncommon experience for a lot of people who suffer from anxiety and despair.
The relationship between happiness and pleasure has a long history in psychology. According to Sigmund Freud's theories, humans seek happiness by attempting to enjoy intense pleasure while simultaneously avoiding pain and suffering. While it is widely acknowledged that happiness is mostly dependent on pleasant feelings, some contend that happiness is more closely associated with the removal of negative emotions.
Although William James believed that happiness was the absence of pleasant emotions, some contend that happiness can be influenced by both positive and negative emotions in different ways.