Re: [xmca] established fact: x per cent of people are happy

It intrigues me too. First thing is to recognize that if I
had asked her at any other moment, I may have got nothing
better than a mouthful of abuse, and if someone else had
asked her, who knows. She has just finished reading
"Afluenza" and was reflexively aware of the complexity of my
question. But overall this is probably a "truthful" answer.

I think the answering of the question "Are you happy?" is a
behavioral question which reflects momentary things and
personality in numerous ways. Most people most of the time
will answer that they are happy absent particular stresses
at the time. I suspect Aristotle undertood happiness better
than the writers of the US Constitution. The only thing here
is to understand that the answer to the question only tells
you how the person answered the question at that moment
under those conditions, and little else. It is certainly not
an "objective" measure of the "fact"! :)

Andy

Ivan Rosero wrote:
> Hello Andy, this intrigues me
>
>
>> is in almost constant pain. I just asked her if she's happy.
>> Answer "yes." I don't deny that that tells me something. And
>> I was pleased to hear it, too. Answers to researchers'
>> questions are objective data. But it is nonsense to think
>> that these words reflect observations of a person's own
>> state of consciousness.
>>
>
> What does her "yes" answer tell you about?
>
> Ivan
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-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Blunden http://www.erythrospress.com/
Classics in Activity Theory: Hegel, Leontyev, Meshcheryakov, 
Ilyenkov $20 ea
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