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

[Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net>]

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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