How can you measure happiness? I’d say happiness is way more subjective than suffering.
It seems to me to be easier to measure the amount of suffering, by for instance looking at health and security risks… It is hard to measure my happiness but it is easier to see when I am physically going backwards… Because that would be fairly, consistantly visible whereas a moment of happiness does not reflect ones entire state of being at all. Wouldn’t you agree?
Furthermore, how are you donating to increase happiness? How do you measure such a thing? One can easily donate against “suffering” by for instance, donating for medication that will reduce pain or shorten a timespan of a desease… But how can you donate for happiness? Donating to education in order to give people increased values and make them think positively? How do you measure the value of the donation needed and how do you measure the actual results achieved? By measuring the amount of suffering decreased?
Pretty much all the same ways that you measure suffering.
by for instance looking at health and security risks…
What do you mean? A risk isn’t a mental state. A risk is a possibility of something happening. There are many possibilities which clearly increase the chance of people suffering, but the same can be said for happiness.
It is hard to measure my happiness but it is easier to see when I am physically going backwards…
There are certain physical events that clearly cause suffering, but the same can be said about happiness.
Because that would be fairly, consistantly visible whereas a moment of happiness does not reflect ones entire state of being at all.
I’m not really sure what you mean.
Furthermore, how are you donating to increase happiness?
Well I don’t. But avoiding existential risk is one way.
I believe I am talking about physical suffering and you are looking at it more as mental suffering. I thus stated that security risks increase physical suffering and are thus easier to measure than for instance, ones mental state and furthermore, happiness…
Avoiding existential risk is something that could make me personally more happy but I doubt that people, whom are not even thinking about these matters, would be more happy. (unless you argue that staying alive results in having the possibility to obtain happiness)
I meant to say that one moment, burst of happiness doesn’t reflect on how one generally feels, consistantly day by day, year by year and is therefore hard to measure.
Why do you think so? They seem equally measurable to me.
How can you measure happiness? I’d say happiness is way more subjective than suffering. It seems to me to be easier to measure the amount of suffering, by for instance looking at health and security risks… It is hard to measure my happiness but it is easier to see when I am physically going backwards… Because that would be fairly, consistantly visible whereas a moment of happiness does not reflect ones entire state of being at all. Wouldn’t you agree?
Furthermore, how are you donating to increase happiness? How do you measure such a thing? One can easily donate against “suffering” by for instance, donating for medication that will reduce pain or shorten a timespan of a desease… But how can you donate for happiness? Donating to education in order to give people increased values and make them think positively? How do you measure the value of the donation needed and how do you measure the actual results achieved? By measuring the amount of suffering decreased?
Pretty much all the same ways that you measure suffering.
What do you mean? A risk isn’t a mental state. A risk is a possibility of something happening. There are many possibilities which clearly increase the chance of people suffering, but the same can be said for happiness.
There are certain physical events that clearly cause suffering, but the same can be said about happiness.
I’m not really sure what you mean.
Well I don’t. But avoiding existential risk is one way.
I believe I am talking about physical suffering and you are looking at it more as mental suffering. I thus stated that security risks increase physical suffering and are thus easier to measure than for instance, ones mental state and furthermore, happiness…
Avoiding existential risk is something that could make me personally more happy but I doubt that people, whom are not even thinking about these matters, would be more happy. (unless you argue that staying alive results in having the possibility to obtain happiness)
I meant to say that one moment, burst of happiness doesn’t reflect on how one generally feels, consistantly day by day, year by year and is therefore hard to measure.