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HAPPINESS VS PLEASURE VS MEANING

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Pleasure vs. Happiness

With the close ties between pleasure and happiness, you might be wondering how to differentiate between them. After all, the Oxford definition of happiness describes it as a state of feeling pleasure!
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The association between the two makes sense, and it’s common to hear the two words used interchangeably outside of the literature; however, when it comes to the science of positive psychology, it is important to make a distinction between the two.
Happiness, as we described above, is a state characterized by feelings of contentment and satisfaction with one’s life or current situation.
On the other hand, pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It refers to the positive feelings we get from experiences like eating good food, getting a massage, receiving a compliment, or having sex.
Happiness, while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than pleasure. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time, whereas pleasure can come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015).
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Pleasure can contribute to happiness, and happiness can enhance or deepen feelings of pleasure, but the two can also be completely mutually exclusive. For example, you can feel a sense of happiness based on meaning and engagement that has nothing to do with pleasure, or you could feel pleasure but also struggle with guilt because of it, keeping you from feeling happy at the same time.
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Happiness vs. Meaning

Happiness and meaning have an even more distinct line between the two. Rarely are happiness and meaning confused or used interchangeably, and for good reason—they describe two very different experiences.
“Humans may resemble many other creatures in their striving for happiness, but the quest for meaning is a key part of what makes us human, and uniquely so.”
Roy Baumeister et al. (2013)
Unlike happiness, meaning is generally not a fleeting state that can come and go throughout the day; it’s a more comprehensive sense of purpose and feeling of contributing to something greater than yourself.
As the quote from Baumeister and colleagues (2013) suggests, there are important distinctions between the methods of searching for and the benefits of experiencing happiness and meaning. Scott Barry Kaufman at Scientific American (2016) outlines these distinctions that Baumeister and his fellow researchers found between the two:
  • Finding one’s life easy or difficult was related to happiness, but not meaning.
  • Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning.
  • Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning.
  • Scarcity of money reduced happiness more than meaning.
  • People with more meaningful lives agreed that “relationships are more important than an achievement.

Image from google
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/what-is-happiness/

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