Happiness
Just
imagine how differently a happy evening might look if designed
by an extreme introvert vs. an over-the-top extrovert. Most of us recognize the
relativity of a term like happiness. Oddly, very few of us
ever apply the primary meaning of the word happiness.
Most
modern dictionaries list the first meaning of happiness something like
this: good fortune, luck or prosperity,. This leaves gladness, delight or pleasure in the not-so-coveted place of the
second meaning.
So
what definition of happiness was in the minds of the framers of the Constitution
when they included in a citizen’s “certain unalienable Rights” the pursuit of happiness?
The Oxford English Dictionary would suggest that in the mid-1700s three
definitions were in effect, in this order:
1.
Good fortune or luck in life or in a particular affair; success, prosperity
2.
The state of pleasurable content of mind which results in success or the
attainment of what is considered good
3.
Successful or felicitous aptitude, fitness, suitability or appropriateness;
felicity
Given
the framers’ collective focus on business brought on by their struggles with
King George, it seems a reasonable argument that they may have been applying
that first meaning – a meaning very few contemporary English speakers apply to
the word happiness.
We
modern English speakers haven’t lost that meaning altogether, as we do use hap- words
that relate back to the idea of prosperity,
luck, or good fortune:
happenstance
perhaps
haphazard
happen
mishap
hapless
And
might
happy-go-lucky actually translate to something more like luck-come-luck-go?
Even
the first two meanings of the simpler word happy in the 1700s were:
1.
Coming or happening by
chance; fortuitous
2.
Having good “hap” or fortune, coming by fortune; favored by lot,
position or other external circumstance
All
this connection to luck and fortune has to do with the roots of happiness. The word comes from the Old Norse word happ,
meaning good luck, which
came from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning to suit, fit or succeed.
So
does your modern understanding of happiness lean toward good fortune & prosperity, or is
your happiness
a pleasurable & felicitous
content of mind? Please let me know in the comments section.
Phrases like "happy chance" seem a little redundant now!
ReplyDeleteMy understanding leans toward "a pleasurable and felicitous content of mind"--something I distinguish from "joy", which is "an unassailable contentment of mind that has more to do with inner peace than circumstances."
Words are interesting things, aren't they?
So interesting. I never thought about what the meaning of "happiness" might have been for our forefathers when they wrote those remarkable words. Good fortune, good luck, good genes...all contributing factors. Happiness for me is about acceptance and gratefulness. When I am most grateful I am most happy.
ReplyDeleteI like the meaning of happiness as "fortunate." It makes sense that the 18th century meaning was a little different. "Happiness" in contemporary use is a kind of joy or exhilaration that's usually transitory. The earlier meaning sounds more sustainable.
ReplyDelete