An Orthodox Jewish Perspective On Happiness
Toba Cohen
March 8, 2015
Capstone
Maalot of Baltimore

{thesis}

What is the secular goal of happiness and how does traditional Judaism define happiness and suggest its attainment?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the official definition of “happiness” is “the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.” (Oxforddictionaries.com). There are two main forms of happiness—the physical, internal or sensory pleasure, versus attitudinal pleasure.
Young people in particular, often feel that to attain “happiness”, they must have plentiful wealth, beauty, education, and physical relations. In fact, many people today feel that this is their reason for …show more content…
Television, magazines, and the Internet show a never-ending display of famous people and their homes and cars, and other things that they own. The underlying message is to be like them, and to purchase things that these celebrities have. It is particularly deeply embedded in American and Western society. Celebrities in the music, sports, and acting fields are worshipped for what they have more than celebrities in some other fields, such as in the fields of Medicine, Religion, Politics, or Science. Those in these latter groups are worshipped more for who they are, and their humanitarian efforts, rather than the amount of money they make and the things that they own. This circumstance might be due to how the media promotes the various celebrities in popular culture, while rarely promoting the materialistic lifestyle of humanitarians, if it exists. Glamorous actors, singers, and athletes are more often used to sell products. The public (and in particular, celebrity worshippers) view the celebrity as having more material possessions, and envy the happiness that they perceive comes with that …show more content…
Andrew N. Christopher, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Albion College, and Barry R. Schlenker, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology of University of Florida, researched the effects of materialism on people. They asked 297 University of Floria undergrauduate students to participate in a study. Those who participated in the study were asked to fill out answers in a booklet which contained scales of measurement. The purpose of the booklet was to record the participant’s measure of materialism, fear of negative evaluation, social identity, personal identity, and their positive and negative affect. A sampling of participants said “Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure”, “I admire people who own expensive home, cars, and clothes”, I’d be happier if I could afford to buy more things”. These statements The Christopher and Schlenker found that materialism was directly correlated with negative affect, self-presentational anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. The conclusion of the study indicated that materialistic individuals tend to have lower levels of satisfaction and psychological