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Stephanie Miranda

Corri Ditch

ENGL 115

9 December 2020

Achieving the Possible

Our perception of happiness has been tainted by societal expectations and the pressure

that is with becoming happy however, almost none of it has to do with external factors rather

than the content of our character. In the articles, How happy are you and Why? By Sonia

Lyubomirsky, Living with Less A lot less by Graham Hill, The Sources of Happiness by the

Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler they all discuss what affects happiness by using different

sources. Hill utilizing his past experience to how he found his happiness, the Dalai Lama and

Howard Cutler identifying and talking about the psychology of materialism, and finally

Lyumbomirsky conducting various studies and utilizing logos as the forefront of her argument.

Lyumbomirsky provided the most effective​ argument as she not only studies people's lives and

find the similarities in their mindset in o​rder to support her analysis of happiness but she also

goes into depth as to how happiness may be predetermined genetically, all while including the

various hardships that innocent people have faced and how they see the silver lining which many

can relate to or draw inspiration from. ​Lyubomirsky’s logical analysis is easily contrasted when

compared to​ Sources of Happiness which mostly offers​ advice from the reputable Dalai Lama

(ethos)​ and Living with Less A lot less who has a very specific situation the vast majority can't

relate to ​thus lacking the informative support that readers may be looking for.
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Specifically​ Lyubomirsky's article centers around various circumstances of different

people then goes into details as to what determines happiness. She uses a pie chart to state “50%

of your happiness is from your happiness setpoint, 40% from intentional act, and finally 10% is

circumstantial.” (Lyubomirsky 184) ​From this the reader can interpret how happiness may be

specifically broken up ,then further Lyubomirsky then she states the myths that come along with

happiness and how to obtain it. However, in order to debunk​ these myths she uses practical

scenarios​ of those that she was observing​ and her background in psychology to provide as to why

they don't hold up when someone is genuinely trying to achieve happiness. Finally she goes into

detail as to why these percentages are what they are. The vast majority of her argument is

attributed to the logical explanation of happiness, utilizing past scientific studies and her own

experience in the psychology field to back her claims as to why we are happy and what factors

they stem from. This ​again​ provides a stronger argument as opposed to The Dalai Lama and

Cutler and Hill for various reasons. ​However the reader can identify in both Dalai Lama’s and

Cutler’s test, just as Lyumbosky did, how the authors compared people's lives yet the major

difference is that the first two mentioned texts limited it to one comparison of two different lives.

In the Source of Happiness, they analyze two individuals​ one being someone who had

been diagnosed with HIV and the other who had just come into a lump sum of money. Their

contrast lies in their perception of life despite given two drastically different circumstances.

Additionally the Dalai Lama and Cutler continue to conduct logical observations ​(logos)​ to

further support their argument by asking two different groups of people to repeat two sentences,

one having a grateful outlook on life and another stating what they were longing for then

collecting data as to how they felt after repeating each sentence. ​Furthermore to support as to
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why Lyumborsky's article is the stronger we can look into exactly what Hill's article lacks.​ Hill’s

article provides little no logical evidence to support his claim as to why materialism is not the

path to follow when seeking permanent happiness, instead he provides his own past experience

to describe his own hardships however that does not mean it is a proper source when analyzing

the contents of happiness. ​His own individual circumstances are very circumstantial and cannot

be easily relatable to the vast majority​. While the Sources of Happiness does highlight logos and

uses observations to support their evidence Lyubomirsky goes into better depth in her

observations and is a more reputable source when discussing the psychological aspects of

happiness because of her background. ​Additionally in Living with Less, A Lot Less Hill

highlights his, in a way, privileged life in order to sway readers into making the same decisions

that he did in order to obtain happiness.

Additionally​ In How Happy are You and Why? Lyubomirsky compares the lives of

various people, ​however​ one specifically that had emotionally stuck out to me was the ons of

Angela, “Angela is thirty-four years old and is one of the happiest people that I ever

interviewed. You wouldn't guess it, however, from all she’s had to bear.” (Lyubomirsky 180)

The reader can look back on their life and compare this passage to find ourselves appreciative

that we haven't gone through what she had but if you were to endure what she had you would

feel for her. By appealing to the audience's emotions (​pathos​) Lyubomirsky shows the reader that

there are terrible things that can happen to someone, you empathize for Angela whether you had

gone through the same or simply felt a fraction of the pain Angela endured when you envisioned

yourself in the same situation. ​In order to retain a sense of happiness Angela finds humor is what

she had gone through and comfort in spending time bonding with her daughter.​ ​This in contrast
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can be different than most, again highlighting the logistical approach that Lyumbomirsky takes

explaining how it essentially is up to our mindset.

Again just as the author provided a real instance where happiness can be obtained by

those even in the worst situation​ The Dalai Lama and Cutler also ​used​ a story of someone who

has had their fair share of hardships. In Sources of Happiness The Dalai Lama and Cutler include

this man's inspirational story to ​demonstrate​ despite previously being a “confirmed materialist”

his entire mindset of viewing the world changed when learning he had HIV, a treatable but not

curable disease. “But over the past year coming to terms with my mortality has opened a whole

new world...It makes me excited about just getting up in the morning, about seeing what the day

will bring.” (The Dalai Lama & Cutler 22) ​Additionally a way in which Hill’s article identifies

someone struggling he speaks on the obstacles he faced when submerging himself in the never

ending world of materialism​. In Hill’s article he expressed “Somehow this stuff ended up

running my life, or a lot of it; the things I consumed ended up consuming me.” In my opinion

Hill would have the weakest argument because of its subjectivity, Hill has the privilege to live a

minimalist lifestyle and the hardships were because of external factors but because of his own

spending.​ However in the essence of talking of those who had endured unprecedented times, you

feel for these people and what they had endured​. All authors use these stories to appeal to the

rhetorical strategy pathos, however Lyumbomirsky had the most examples of people and their

own hardships. ​She​ makes the most effective argument by providing various different situations

in which the author is bound to find one and be struck in the heart.

Each author has their point of views yet it is what is said in the article that helps the

reader determine if there is a credible source.​ Lyubomirsky has a thorough and ​relatable​ context
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when it comes to her sources and claims. In the beginning of How Happy are you and Why we,

the readers are given a small biography of Sonja Lyubmirsky, “...a professor of psychology at the

University of California, Riverside...earned a PhD in social psychology from Stanford..”

(Lyubomirsky 179). Additionally when talking about her research and finding she provides more

than just texts, she uses charts and graphs to further her viewpoint as to what affects our

happiness. ​She references her own research ​work and with whom she had conducted this

research with, “I was a research assistant for a psychology professor named Paul Andreasson..”

(Lyubomirsky 191) ​On the contrary,​ the Dalai Lama is seen as one of the most well known

religious figures. His entire existence revolves around being the reincarnation of Happiness thus

his words can carry their own weight but only to a certain extent, in addition to the Dalai Lama

being the author Cutler also inputs his own ​biography​ in the introduction. Lastly there's Hill, not

much is said for his academic accomplishment but ​he does mention​ how he has his own startup,

which later is referenced as to why and how he​ obtained such a large amount of money. All in all

the reader can infer that Lyumborsky has the most reputable ​article​ along with background when

providing the most effective argument of how to become happy.

Lyumbomirsky provided the most effective argument as she not only compares and

contrasts peoples lives in order to support her analysis of happiness but she also goes into depth

as to how happiness may be predetermined genetically (​logos​) all while including the various

hardships that innocent people have faced and how they see the silver lining which many can

relate to or draw inspiration from (​pathos​),​ in contrast to Sources of Happiness which offers

advice and Living with Less A lot less who has a very specific situation the vast majority can't

relate to.
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Works Cited

Cutler, Howard and The Dalai Lama. “The Sources of Happiness” ​Pursuing Happiness: A

Bedford Spotlight Reader 2nd Edition, ​edited by Parfitt, Mathew and Skorczewski,

Dawn, 2019.

Hill, Graham. “Living With Less. A Lot Less” ​Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight

Reader 2nd Edition, ​edited by Parfitt, Mathew and Skorczewski, Dawn, 2019.

Lyubomirsky, Sonja, “How Happy Are You and Why?” ​Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford

Spotlight Reader 2nd Edition, e​ dited by Parfitt, Mathew and Skorczewski, Dawn, 2019.