A Science of Happiness// Haylee Lynd

       Martin Seligman, PhD, in his 1998 APA president's address says that "positive psychology" cries out for psychology's attention. He defines positive psychology as a "reoriented science that emphasizes the understanding and building of the most positive qualities of an individual: optimism, courage, work ethic, future-mindfulness, interpersonal skill, the capacity for pleasure and insight, and social responsibility" (1). I have got to say I really like this idea of positive psychology. It threw me off a little when he talked about the fact that psychology has moved too much towards the area of curing mental illness because I believe it is extremely important. However, his focus on positive psychology is not to stop curing mental illness but to prevent it, which is, arguably, far better. It is a worthy cause to seek to discover what makes humans happy, and then to teach those discoveries to the population so that they may seek happiness. Seligman proclaims, "We can show the world what actions lead to well-being, to positive individuals, to flourishing communities, and to a just society" (2). Seligman is essentially pushing for a science of happiness, and I love it.

P.S. I commented on Samantha's and Emmett's posts.

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 3, 2022 at 4:34 PM

    I love the science of happiness. It is very catchy. However, I have met with kids who have had mental illnesses by birth and who were mentally ill by actions of their parents. One sibling that I met told me the story of how they were tortured since it made their parents happy. There is definitely a lot of things the science of happiness can do, but it is limited by a sinful world. Happiness also has a gray line. Happiness is not always good, so where will that line be drawn?

    ~ Madalyn Dillard

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