Kant's description of happiness is, "continuous well-being, enjoyment of life, complete satisfaction with one's condition." One could also say it is the enjoyment of all life's pleasures without the pains. He also states that happiness is ".....the state of a rational being in the world in the whole of whose existence everything goes according to his wish and will." I'm thinking that in this sense happiness is having all your wants fulfilled. Surely the moralistic aspects are complex and confusing therefore I had put them aside and rather have put sight into the "duty" of assuring happiness in one's life. Obvious is the degree to which many suffer from unhappiness. Is it their failure to recognize a duty to assure happiness in their lives? Kant's example of the person seeking wealth sets forth a number of contrapositives, such as "if you have wealth, you are happy", with the word wealth being replaced by numerous substitutions. Kant states, "The problem of determining surely and universally which action would promote the happiness of a rational being is completely insoluble." That would be true because "happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination." I would think this makes it highly subjective. This also leads me to believe that it isn't possible for everyone to make decisions and choices that ultimately lead to happiness. Kant adds, "The more a cultivated reason purposely occupies itself with the enjoyment of life and with happiness, so much the further does one get away from true satisfaction." That we have our own individual will and the ability of individual choice obviously can lead us away from happiness, if it were all instinctive then we'd all automatically be happy. Therefore we get back to the duty of assuring happiness in our lives. Should we begin each day with a quest for happiness, live with intent to secure happiness in our lives?
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