Jacob+Tyles+RP+Post+5

 It seems that I am not the only one to tackle the futile pursuit of that which makes us happy. Before I could even begin to establish a firm grasp on this age-old concept, I needed to further clarify what I had to be searching for–the topic of “happiness” alone wasn’t going to cut it and I needed to flavor the topic in order to successfully search for useful sources. I decided to centralize two very core aspects that I deemed worthy enough to play a part of our existential happiness: //knowledge// and //meaning// (I edited my centralization from one core aspect to two-adding meaning in conjunction to knowledge. I decided that this would make for a better paper). I first explored Plato’s //Allegory of the Cave// from his book “The Republic” to not only  get a better idea of happiness in reality but also  how the acquisition of knowledge influences one’s happiness. Essentially, the thesis behind Plato’s allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. In his story, Plato establishes a cave in which prisoners are chained down and forced to look upon the front wall of the cave. All they see are the shadows, and when one prisoner brakes free from his chains, he sees the real world and pities his once-fellow prisoners of how they know nothing of reality. In a sense, I can connect Plato’s allegory to my own derivations of happiness and knowledge, for Plato writes:

 “And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?”

One can argue that the prisoner is happy and content with the shadows of the wall, knowing nothing but his own reality. Yet the moment the prisoner sees sunlight, and the images of real people, it is unarguable that he becomes infinitely happier at discovering a scene comparable to divine creation itself.

The next source I looked was a short poem by Edgar Allen Poe- a potent writer that I personally love.  In his work "The Happiest Hour", Poe explores  the influence of passion and pride on happiness, and how it not only has the power to uplift oneself, but to also crash a person’s state of happiness in an instant.

I also looked at Jon Gertner’s “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness.” In his essay , I gathered that we are awful at considering our own happiness in the future. Whether it is a matter of happenstance, or predestined fate, our “impact bias” incorrectly judges just how well we will be off with a new car or with a death in a family. Yes, immediately bliss and passion, or grief and despair, seem to surround our psyche as if clouds invading a seemingly normal town, ready to unleash an onerous water upon the land. Yet we are subjected to our brain, and much like Plato’s allegory , our brain will perceive these matters as well. However, our brain will regulate whatever happens to us, and we will be back to normal over time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Nirvana is a state of happiness that goes against the basis of the three aforementioned sources, that it is the cleansing of knowledge that offers eternal happiness. I read a source describing many detailed steps on how to achieve Moksha, the eternal state of being one and happy. I will continue research.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Meaning will also play a pivotal role in my paper, and I will change the tone of the paper from erudite to dark. I will look at a number of holocaust survivor stories and incorporate photographs that add to the question of finding meaning, and ultimately happiness, during such a dark time. This will be a very heart tugging, almost cathartic section of my paper

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">I can already see the outline of my paper. I can’t wait.