Happiness: Sources of Happiness: A Qualitative Approach by Lou and Shah

In the article, “Sources of Happiness: A Qualitative Approach,” the author, Lou, and Shih, indicate that the Chinese conception of happiness emphasizes on interpersonal evaluation and satisfaction (Lou and Shih 186). This means that the conceptualization of happiness entails being at ease with most of the things in life. The authors of the article did a survey among the community residents living in Kaohisung, from which they were able to derive three postulations of happiness, which are inclusive of life satisfaction, positive emotion and absence of psychological distress or negative emotion (Lou and Shih 183). Even though the authors do not pinpoint the exact aspects in life that are responsible for promoting happiness in an individual, through comparing their empirical data to Chinese philosophy, they were able to come up with three conclusions regarding the source of happiness. Firstly, happiness is manifested through achievement at work or the satisfaction from taking care of an individual’s material need. Secondly, happiness emanates from the achievement of peace and understanding, and finally, health is a source of happiness for the Chinese (Lou and Shih 186).

The connection of the source to Gilbert’s text originates from their conception of happiness. Lou and Shih indicate that the conception of happiness places emphasis on the contentment of an individual, as well as his or her internal and intrapersonal evaluation. Gilbert refers to Adam Smith’s argument in the conceptualization of happiness, where he indicates that the production of wealth is not necessarily a factor that might bring about happiness in an individual. For this reason, he concurs with Lou and Shih’s conceptualization of happiness, indicating that it is a derivative of a peace of mind and the easy of one’s body.

Works cited

Lou, Lu, and Shih Jian Bin. “Sources Of Happiness: A Qualitative Approach.” Journal of Social Psychology 137.2 (1997): 181-187.