Happiness II: Pleasure and Joy

This is the second of two blogs on happiness, the first being on “Wanting and Liking.” Here I want to discuss the experiences of pleasure and joy. Know, however, that all four of these words (wanting, liking, pleasure, joy), and probably many more, are approximate ways of understanding this feeling of happiness. We know a few things about happiness for sure, but many more we have only vague ideas about. We know, for instance, that if people say they “want to be happy,” they probably won’t be…happy. Happiness is a result of action, not something that can be achieved by looking for it and trying to find it. Let’s start with a look at pleasure, then joy, and then happiness.

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