白领英语晨读经典365 059 Happiness 快乐
Not many people are happy, but all the libraries are filled with books on happiness, and this very fact should make us curious.
The Ancients gave us dozens of recipes on how to conduct a happy life， each of them contradicting the other ,or at least , with very dissimilar opinions. The Midernity has its own solutions up to the negation of the very possibility of having a happy life.
And recently, Mister Francis H. came up with his own ideas of happiness .He argues that the problem of happiness can be reduced to wealth, knowledge and a personal belief of being "in control "of one's own life. Let's at first consider these factors.
Wealth is important , according to Mister Francis H. because it allows the satisfaction of one's basic needs.
knowledge in general (meant at scientific knowledge)has increased dramatically over the last centuries,but arguing that this has contributed to general happiness is at least risky, not to mention superfluous.
Here we come to the third aspect of happiness: The personal belief of being "in control" .It is founded on one's opinion or interpretation of external events, or one's own character, whatever you call it. Therefore it is crucial and subsumes all the rest. One is happy when he believes he is happy.
