"Perfect Happiness Unachievable"

A READER WRITES: “BB, I'm not sure you are helping society with your blog in that you are raising expectations in people that happiness is achievable. Do you think it is possible to determine if a person is happy or not. Do yo think there is a measurable point where we 'see the light' and become happy. Are you so naive as to think that there is some universal standard of happiness that we can aspire to or if you think there is, have you any suggestions how one might identify when it is reached. If perfect happiness cannot be achieved, then we are in constant pursuit of something that cannot be achieved which can only lead to frustration, or if perfect happiness does exist, then having achieved it we have nothing left to aspire to which also leads to frustration. BB you are sending us on a wild goose chase, I respectfully request to spend some time researching the benefits of Nihilism. Yours Truly. Q”

BB SAYS: Thank you for your comments and pertinent questions. I think our positions are actually much closer than you might think.

Once one accepts that perfect happiness is unachievable, one becomes liberated to enjoy life for what it is, without false hopes. False hopes eventually create despair, when those hopes are not realised. As the philosopher Spinoza says: “Fear cannot exist without hope nor hope without fear”. By conquering hope, one overcomes despair and fear, and achieves a kind of liberation. Perhaps the by-line on this site should read “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here”.

But even if perfect happiness is not possible, is it possible to increase one’s happiness? You advocate abandoning the quest for “perfect happiness” because doing so will reduce frustration. But surely reducing frustration increases happiness? According to Spinoza, by abandoning hope and delusions, and living in the real world, one can approach a state of blessedness and bliss.

Is it possible to determine if a person is happy or not? One method used by researchers is to ask people if they are happy or not, or to rate their own levels of happiness. People self-report widely varying levels of happiness. Are those reports correct? It’s difficult to know. One is reminded of Woody Allen in his film Hannah and Her Sisters:

Allen: “I can't think. This morning I was so happy. - I don't know what went wrong.”
Friend: “You were miserable this morning.”
Allen: “I was happy, but I just didn't realise I was.”