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Many speak of happiness and meaningfulness interchangeably, identifying happy lives with meaningful lives. However, as Thaddeus Metz of the University of Pretoria clarifies in his paper “Happiness and Meaningfulness: Some Key Differences,” the notions are distinct, and shouldn’t be confused. This may suggest that those who focus only on happiness may end up with having insufficiently meaningful lives.
As Metz explains, we can see that the notions of "a happy life" and "a meaningful life" are distinct because we can think of lives that we would describe as happy but not meaningful, and of lives that we would describe as meaningful but not happy. An example of the first type, that is, of a life that might be described as happy but not as meaningful, could be the life of a person who does little besides continuously consuming drugs that are readily available to him. As a matter of an empirical, psychological fact, he may be experiencing pleasure or a sensation of happiness throughout his life. But it will not be a life we would normally characterize as meaningful.
Another example of a happy but not a meaningful life could be that of a person who is duped by charlatans who make him feel special, loved, and charismatic although he isn’t any of these, and they in fact mock him. Again, as a matter of psychological fact, this person may experience a lot of happiness throughout his life, but his life will not be meaningful.
An example of the second type of life, that is, a life that is meaningful but not happy, would be that of a person who creates great works of art while suffering from depression. Her life may be meaningful even if unhappy. Another example would be of a person who fights against injustice, thereby sacrificing her tranquility, peace of mind, and many pleasures for the cause.
Metz presents several key differences between happiness and meaningfulness:
1. Sensations vs. Actions
Lives are happy principally in virtue of sensations. But lives are meaningful principally in virtue of actions. Happiness is mostly a feeling, and it can be passive. Meaningfulness has to do with deliberation and activity.
2. Appropriateness
Experiences can add happiness or pleasure to life regardless of their appropriateness. For example, as a matter of psychological fact, a thief may feel genuinely happy thanks to a successful theft. But experiences cannot add meaning to life regardless of their appropriateness. A successful theft will not make a life more meaningful.
3. Luck
Luck can be responsible for happiness to a greater degree than for meaningfulness. We can conceive of a case in which pure luck makes one happy although she didn’t choose, want, or act intentionally to bring about that happiness. However, an event based on pure luck, that did not involve any choice and intentional activity, would not usually be seen as making one’s life meaningful.
4. Appropriate Attitudes
The attitudes appropriate for meaningfulness differ from those appropriate for happiness. When various decisions or actions make life meaningful, it is appropriate to take pride in them (from the first-person perspective) or to feel respect and admiration towards them (from the third-person perspective). But people are usually not proud because they are happy or experiencing pleasure, and others often do not feel admiration for them just because they are happy.
5. Influence of Posthumous Events
Happiness is influenced only during one’s lifetime. After one dies, one cannot be made happier by, for example, the posthumous success of one’s efforts during one’s lifetime to pass a law that enhances social justice. This is not true of meaningfulness. One’s life can become more meaningful after one dies because of posthumous events. One’s life can become more meaningful thanks to the posthumous success of one’s efforts during one’s lifetime to pass a law that enhances social justice.
Conclusion
Metz presents further discussions of and distinctions between happiness and meaningfulness, which I will not dive into here. His work contributes much to clearer thinking about meaningfulness and happiness, and also points to interesting and important practical questions. Often happiness and meaningfulness come together. But when they do not, are there cases in which we miss out on life’s meaningfulness because we pursue mostly happiness while neglecting or diminishing meaningfulness? And are there cases in which we miss out on life’s happiness because we pursue mostly meaningfulness while neglecting or diminishing happiness?
Further, when we have to choose between what enhances meaningfulness but neglects or diminishes happiness, and what enhances happiness but neglects or diminishes meaningfulness, how should we choose? I plan to write about this issue in a future blog post, but in the meantime, I'd be interested in readers’ views on the topic.
References
Thaddeus Metz, “Happiness and Meaningfulness: Some Key Differences,” In Lisa Bortolotti (ed.), Philosophy and Happiness (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009), 3-20.
