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The Happiness Illusion Paradox

April 1, 2018

Philosophy

experience, feelings, happiness, musings

Do you feel happy right now? Let’s assume that you do. What if I told you that you’re wrong? What if I told you that you only think that you’re happy? Maybe you would then change your mind; or maybe, you wouldn’t. Defining happiness has been an elusive activity since ancient times. For Aristotle, for example, happiness was more of an activity and less of a state of mind. Today let’s take a look at an interesting aspect of happiness, which is subjectivity. Let’s talk about the happiness illusion paradox.

By happiness illusion, I refer to the hypothesis my questions above posed: what if you only think that you’re happy while you actually aren’t. The happiness illusion paradox exposes the fallacious notion that happiness is an objective state. In other words, the happiness illusion paradox underlines the fact that you cannot measure or detect happiness outside the experiencer. If you think you’re happy, then by definition you’re happy.

happiness illusion paradox
Can happiness be anything but subjective?
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Plot Is Overrated, so Write what Matters

March 7, 2018

Literature

creativity, experience, feelings, fiction, literature, plot, storyline

I often go to Amazon’s Best-Sellers List to find free Kindle eBooks.(Not anymore; local library beats Amazon any day). The problem is, as I explained in my article on the supply and demand of writing fiction, that there is simply too much noise out there. That is, too many mediocre works.

“Hang on!” someone might say. “How on earth can you tell a book is mediocre simply by reading its description?” Well, you can if you’re experienced enough. A long, divulging description usually tells me that the author is preoccupied with the plot. But plot is overrated, grossly so.

Furthermore, bear in mind that long descriptions usually reveal something else, too. A long description is usually a sign of an author who has concocted a plot so convoluted, that it requires a long description to make sense to the prospective reader. Too complex a plot is hard to write and harder to read. Here’s what most inexperienced authors don’t realize:

All plots have been devised already. There is nothing new under the sun. There is no original story by virtue of its plot.

So, if a writer shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the plot, where then? If plot is overrated, what are good novels based on?

plot is overrated
This is what an inexperienced writer’s plot looks like. If this image looks familiar, you’ve probably seen it on my article explicating the chaos of meaning
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Fear, Nonconformity, and Action

February 12, 2018

Experiencing

action, conditioning, experience, fear, feelings, injustice, life, nonconformity, society

A – formerly metal 😉 – Swedish band sings “fear is the weakness in all of us”. But they’ve got it wrong. It’s not fear that is the weakness; it’s what it pushes us to do (or not). We mostly do something we wouldn’t (or leave undone something we’d like to) because of our fear of nonconformity. Usually we are deathly afraid of doing something unexpected. We are paralyzed in the thought of doing something our parents and teachers, our peers and society, wouldn’t anticipate. Fear, nonconformity, and action are all interconnected.

fear, nonconformity, inaction
Fear is not the problem. But conditioning is.
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