Ethics and Happiness for a Good Life

Ethics and happiness play a major role in one’s life. The two terms ethics and happiness are frequently discussed by all humans with regard to their most valuable possession which is life. However, individuals in a society can interpret these two terms in various ways. For instance, some people express ethics and happiness as interconnected concepts in life .But for some these two terms sound completely different.

What is Ethics ?

Ethics is also called as moral philosophy. It is branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour.

Ethics determines actions as morally good or bad or morally right or wrong.

It is much easier to discuss what is not ethics as it would broaden the concepts of ethics in narrow minded readers .

 Peter Singer in his book 'Practical Ethics' stated what is not ethics as follows.

• Ethics is not based on religion .
• Ethics is not relative to the society in which one lives in .
• Ethics is not primarily about sex.
• Ethics is not something which is 'good in theory but not in practice'.
• Ethics is not merely a matter of subjective taste or opinion.

However ,we still live in societies where some individuals consider at least one of the above aspects as ethics. These misconceptions of ethics have passed down from generations and will continue to spread until such people bring a halt to such misconceptions. For example, there are some people who still regard ethics as nasty puritanical prohibitions, mainly designed to stop people from having fun. Moreover ,the most commonly evident misconception is that ethics is based on religion .It might  be because religion shows the right and wrong and the devotees who are virtuous will be blessed with eternity of bliss and non-virtuous people will be dragged to the hell. To add further , lying is regarded as an immoral act .However , if you are in a position a lie would save your life then you would definitely lie as a self defense. At such a instance lying is not immoral even though it violates ethics of a simple rule. 

It must be admitted that a person holding unconventional ethical beliefs is still living according to ethical standards as long as the person believes in what he is doing, can reason and justify the actions in the universal point of view rather than justifying and reasoning according to self-interests. I think it is said so by moralists and philosophers because ethics is a considered as a doctrine which must be applicable to most individuals and not only for just one person. Thus, reasoning and justification for one's actions must be free of self-interests. It must be also highlighted that a person living according to  ethical standards is not always moral.

Hedonism

Hedonism is a Greek word derived from the word hédoné, which means pleasure or happiness. 

It is evident that many things can improve our well-being and can make our lives better off. Physical health, secured love for others, hobbies are some aspects that makes a life good. If you cautiously analyze these aspects, there is one feature commonly shared by them which contributes to a good life. It is happiness.😊😃 

Happiness is intrinsically valuable to maintain a quality life. Philosophers prefer attitudinal pleasure to physical pleasure as such pleasure doesn’t require any association of physical quality. 

Then how is ethics and hedonism interconnected? Hedonistic utilitarianism makes the connection between ethics and happiness . This utilitarian theory states that the we should always do what maximizes happiness or pleasure and minimize pain or unhappiness. This is very much applicable to our lives to make lives better off. Autonomy ,the power to guide our life through our own free choices, must be prioritized irrespective of their outcome. If we are happy in doing something then we must proceed with it backing  off others likings and disliking.

However ,"Happiness is like a butterfly". 🦋🦋If you chase or focus only on happiness hardly you will succeed in it and  it will be out of your grasp .

Hedonists even consider happiness gained from evil pleasures can improve our lives just as much as happiness that comes from virtue. This  idea is plausible. If there are people whose only choice or liking to is to gain happiness by evil deeds, then at such instances they will use their only choice regardless of the morality of the deeds. 

Moreover, misery clearly hampers a good life .Unhappiness affect one’s well-being  in the negative way. Unhappiness harms the well-being of an individual.

Finally, ethics and happiness can be regarded as the crucial aspects to live a sensible life. Even though the society is filled with misconceptions of ethics humans need ethics to some extent  to live. Living according to ethics and choosing what makes you happy can contribute to a quality life plus good well-being.