The Hedonic Treadmill
Aristotle defined happiness as “functioning well.” In this sense, happiness is a virtue that requires practice. (Maybe we won’t get it right all the time, but we keep trying, aiming for a perfect soul).
There’s a theory that the pursuit of happiness puts us on a “hedonic treadmill.” “The concept of the hedonic treadmill is that regardless of whether good or bad things happen to us, we always return to a set point of happiness and well-being. Hence, we have to constantly work to stay at a given degree of happiness, as though we were on a treadmill.” (Davis, Big Think Source)
Our questions related to happiness are:
In our American culture, do we equate money with happiness? If you think this is the case, what are the dangers of this thought process?
Conversely, if you believe it makes sense to believe money brings happiness, how much money would it take? See this article for some recent studies on this idea: Does money stop making you happier after $75K a year?
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/money-happiness-research-matthew-killingsworth-wharton.html
https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/hedonic-treadmill/#rebelltitem1