What is happiness?

Are you happy? This question has great significance to humans as we progress to new technological milestones sometimes delving into the realm where there is no distinction between what is real and what is virtual. One of the greatest challenges in the study of happiness lies in its definition. Happiness is a big umbrella term that can mean different things to different people. Happiness, then, can refer to a way of thinking, such as being optimistic; a way of feeling joy, pleasure, relief, or gratitude; or simply a way of being. Perhaps there are no boundaries of religion, culture, linguistics, geography or race in the human response to this question. Everyone would agree that all of us want to be happy.
Thus, when we all agree that happiness is a universal emotion then the question arises what is happiness? Is it possible to quantify this innate human emotion and whether there is any algorithm to achieve this state of mind? However, a closer look at this basic emotion leads us to the conclusion that the state of happiness is linked to the functioning of our brains. Happiness cannot be quantified and also cannot be measured. It is a state of mind which can only be perceived.
Another area where all of us would agree is that happiness is relative. We experience happiness only when we compare our feelings to a previous state of mind. It is an established psychological fact that we feel happy when subconsciously we compare ourselves with others who are less fortunate. The implication of this psychological analysis is that humans have evolved brain mechanisms designed to gain advantage at the expense of others, to delight in the downfall of others, and to envy those who are more successful at achieving the goals toward which they aspire.
In a significant research, psychologists have observed that within a given population, the percentage of persons who describe themselves as “very happy” has remained remarkably stable at about one third across different generations. This has led to the conclusion that increased wealth, luxurious lifestyle or material comforts are not the necessary requisites for the feeling of ‘happiness’.
Since the feeling of happiness is a universal trait in humans, it is pertinent to understand the biology behind this highly enjoyable emotion. Animals show no such emotion although some higher mammals may show certain behavior which may mimic a primitive form of happiness. It is thus no wonder that evolutionary psychologists are convinced that natural selection has played a big role in wiring our brains to be receptive to feelings that can make humans feel sadness or happiness.
During the course of human evolutionary history, natural selection has worked on our brain creating a mechanism which makes us go into a state of euphoria. When humans experience this state of euphoria our brain secretes a chemical called dopamine. This chemical excites other areas of the brain and as a result the individual experiences a host of emotions which humans now describe as a state of ‘happiness’. The feel-good emotion has been important to human evolution because humans became the only animals to differentiate between ‘happiness’ and ‘sadness’. Being happy made humans exclude sadness and achieve a state of ‘happiness’ thus giving homo sapiens a survival advantage. Humans then became sensitive to environmental changes which were negative and would signal danger.
The human quest to achieve the state of ‘happiness’ has played a big role in propelling human endeavors. Humans started believing that a certain level of ambition is necessary to achieve ‘happiness’, this thinking has been dictated by the nagging feeling that achieving a certain goal or ambition may create circumstances which may positively contribute to achieving a state of ‘happiness’. It is thus no wonder that all essential survival kits for humans such as sex, good food, company of friends, success, good health etc are associated with the human perception of ‘happiness’. And therefore, today we all share a certain set of human characteristics that prime us to be on a perpetual search for a better life.
It is strange that humans become habituated with the feeling of being happy very easily. This is in sharp contrast to sadness which seems to linger on in our brain much longer. A loss of hundred rupees brings much more sadness than the amount of happiness perceived after a gain of the same amount of money. Thus, happiness is short lived, this phenomenon is frequently referred to as ‘hedonic treadmill’. This fact again proves that ‘happiness’ has a survival value. Had happiness not been long lived, then humans would have lost the urge to be ambitious and would have not strived for rewards which would bring a new bout of ‘happiness’.
The state of ‘happiness’ and its link with religious thought is again a curious case which is worth mentioning. It has been shown that in societies that lack proper food, jobs, or health care, religious people are indeed happier than those who are not religious. But things get more complicated in countries with adequate social support. Both the religious and the non-religious persons in wealthier countries are happier than people in places without proper support. But, here’s the interesting thing: In richer nations, those who are religious are actually less happy than their non-religious neighbors. The psychological reasoning behind these facts is that a strong belief in religion, in poor countries with fewer facilities, masks the biological quest of human mind to seek happiness from worldly gains. The belief in destiny is a big factor to satisfy the evolutionary brain. However, in countries with strong social support, the average mind feels free to explore ambitions and the justification of destiny is no longer a dominant force.
The evolutionary importance of ‘happiness’ is further underlined by the observation that happiness is contagious. It has been shown by research that if a social contact is happy, it increases the likelihood that you are happy by 15 percent. Humans are also wired to devise mechanisms to spread happiness’. It is a common observation that public display of loud music is an integral part of our festivals and social events. We are programmed to display and advertise our happiness.
Despite the evolutionary significance of the feeling of being ‘happy’, it is noteworthy that the recipe of perceiving ‘happiness’ is not easy to define. To say that money brings happiness is a fallacy. Similarly caste, creed, nationality, success or social hierarchy is no guarantee of being happy. After intense research, psychology experts agree that to achieve ‘happiness’ one must try to live in the present in sync with the surroundings. It is worthless to live in the past and to delve in the future. This recipe of ‘happiness’ is quite akin to the Eastern concept of mindfulness which incorporates sustaining meta-attention on the contents of one’s own mind in the present moment. Thus, there is a growing body of evidence that happiness is not something that can be achieved by hard work or good luck. The happiest people seem to be those who are fully engaged in the present, rather than focused on future goals.
(The author is Professor of Biochemistry at University of Allahabad)