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MB's Web of Knowledge
happiness
//
joy
=
profound happiness
a sudden burst of happiness
happiness vs. joy
diffen.com
Happiness deserves a special/central place and attention among the emotions.
The Hype Around Happiness - A Dangerous Distraction?
Evidence:
specific angle:
empirical
work with emotions
by
observation of others
myself
Why more than just an opinion?
observations:
usually not a "key" moment
except:
profound Happiness
does not frequently trigger crucial emotional processes
compared to
feeling safe
anger
...
Conclusions:
important, yes
not special
Issues:
important
because of
the number of people who hold this opinion
"Happiness-Cult"
misleading
conflict with actual empirical evidence
under-valuation of other emotions
in mainstream
so to speak: stealing the spotlight
e.g.
feeling safe
Instead:
yes...
happiness is a desirable emotion and usually a sign of something good happening
BUT...
it can be
empty
"cheap thrills"
superficial
... and occurs after experiencing deeper emotions
... which in turn might get overlooked/underappreciated
e.g.
feeling safe
higher in a hierarchy of emotions
for Practitioners:
differentiate whether you are dealing with superficial or profound happiness
profound happiness
a happiness that occurs when experiencing something profound and better words to describe the feeling are lacking