Humans have been discussing some version of “happiness” at least since the 4th century BCE, although Aristotle wisely framed it as living a good life or living well, which, to him, meant being true to a set of values and virtues that made both the individual and those around him better off. He referred to this as “eudaemonia.” It’s not known if Aristotle actually created the word, but it roughly translates to pursuing the best conditions possible for a life worth living. Importantly, this concept was not about personal reward, although one might feel that, but rather about creating a better life for the collective good. Surprisingly, even in the 4^th Century BCE, Aristotle’s writings implied that he understood that achieving eudaemonia required some level of privilege or even luck. Today we might refer to this as “living with purpose or meaning.”

Interestingly, this notion of happiness being connected in some way to virtuosity and the greater good was preserved for well over a millennium, up through the Enlightenment as multiple philosophers described “happiness,” which didn’t show up in the English language until the 15^th century, AD, as still connected to alignment between virtuous behavior and the collective good, with “happiness” being a reward for such values and behavior.

Post-enlightenment, happiness, or at least the pursuit of happiness, began to be seen as a “right.” However, it was still primarily focused on civic benefit rather personal happiness at the expense of others. It was not until the 19^th century that happiness began to be seen as a personal pursuit or even an emotion. This came just in time for the industrial revolution, which put capitalism in overdrive, and accelerated the shift in happiness from “eudaemonia” to something much more self-focused and materialistic. This trend continued through the latter part of the 20^th century until the classical notion of happiness had been obliterated and replaced with individualistic pursuits of pleasure, wealth, and materialism. The combination of zero-sum capitalism and, in the 21^st century, social media, put the nail in the coffin for anything society-wide resembling happiness as virtuosity for civic benefit and the greater good. Some refer to zero sum capitalism as “late stage” capitalism, but either way, it refers to a state in which fewer and fewer people actually benefit from that economic system and collective benefit has been structurally weaned out of the model. It drives notions of “happiness” that are less and less attainable and unfulfilling even when they are attained.

So… this is why the pursuit of happiness, as it is understood today, is probably not the best way to go if we want to “feel good” or have a life worth living. Extensive research on what drives a sense of well being in life clearly shows that beyond basic means, it is not connected to wealth and certainly not connected to acquisition of materialistic possessions. It is not connected to professional status or power. The most important variable for flourishing in life is human connection (in particular feeling loved and that we matter), followed closely by having purpose and meaning in life. As such, rather than dedicating ourselves to the pursuit of self-referential happiness, which even when we achieve it, is temporary and fleeting, it probably makes much more sense to dedicate ourselves to supporting relationships and choosing actions that give us purpose and meaning in our lives, which, by the way, are likely to benefit others as well. Aristotle was on to something.