9: Enjoyable Emotions
The author suggests there are "more than a dozen" distinct enjoyable emotions, but we lack the vocabulary to describe them appropriately. We speak of happiness or joy, but there are distinct emotional states that are described by these basic terms.
We often understand pleasure in terms of sensual stimulation: something that looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes "good." This, too, is a limitation of our language, as people take pleasure in different sensations. To some people, a sour flavor is good while others abhor the taste. So "good" is merely an evaluation of the emotions we experience from the stimulation we experience - the sensation is a trigger for the emotional response.
Sensory pleasure is culturally derived and learned. There are some universals, such as sweet tastes and symmetry in the appearance of a human fact, but there are many idiosyncracies. Asians find pleasure in the scent of rotting fish, which evokes disgust in westerners. The French delight in cheeses that cause revulsion to other cultures.
Amusement is one of the simplest enjoyable emotions, whether we find something to be mildly amusing or collapse in peals of laughter. It is a sensation that, going by the billions spend in the entertainment industry, is highly valued in most cultures.
Contentment is another positive emotion, though it is sometimes argued that the lack of negative stimuli is not itself an emotion, there are moments when we reflect upon our situation and have a feeling of contentment that is not merely an emotional blank.
Bliss can be argued to be an extreme form of contentment rather than a separate emotion, albeit more intense and short-lived. One can only experience bliss in its full force, as it is not possible to feel just a little bit of ecstacy.
Excitement is another emotion in response to novelty or challenge, or it may be the anticipation of a positive emotion that will arise from a given cause. This is different to the emotional arousal in expectation of a negative event (anxiety), and the feeling of relief that exists when we escape harm. Excitement is the expectation of a positive outcome, not merely escaping a negative one.
Relief, in itself, is a positive emotion that exists in the wake of the removal of a negative situation or threat to our well being. It is not accurate to say that people find danger to be pleasant - what they seek is the sense of relief once the danger has passed.
The author lists "wonder" as another positive emotion, but struggles to describe it. It may be a fascinating discovery, or merely a sense of confusion in the face of something one does not understand but does not fear. Wonder may turn to amusement or fear when the mind untangles the meaning of what it perceives, but until then there is a sense of wonder.
Admiration is somewhat different than wonder: it is an attraction we feel to people for certain reasons. The physical symptoms of admiration are significantly different, and the emotion is less intense and more lasting.
The pleasure of success has no word in the English language, though the Italians use the term "fiero" to describe the high emotional state that comes from accomplishment. Examples are a moment when an athlete achieves a victory, or an intellectual makes a sudden realization.
He mentions a few terms in other languages that describe the feeling of pleasure that arises as a result of someone else's success - we feel elated when a friend has accomplished something. Parents know this feeling well, as it arises from seeing their children succeed.
Gratitude is another positive emotion - genuine thankfulness we feel when we are the benefactor of the kindness of another person or good fortune in general. There are other emotions that may occur, such as resentment, anger, embarrassment, or uncertainty.
The term "elevation" is used to describe the positive emotion experienced from the actions of others - a moment of human kindness or compassion lifts the spirits of an observer, who knows neither party involved.
Schadenfreude is mentioned as a positive emotion that comes from seeing harm done to someone who deserves it - whether it is an instance of "poetic justice" or simply some misfortune that occurs to an individual we consider reprehensible.
Functionally, positive emotional states serve to condition and motivate us. The emotion is a reward for positive action, and the desire to experience the emotion motivates us to undertake positive action. Some emotions motivate us to do what is good for us individually, others to do what is good for others in a social context.
The pursuit of enjoyment is a primary motivation in our lives. Even when people attempt to be objective and stoic, seeking quantified outcomes, the ultimate goal is to achieve a pleasant emotional state. People undertake considerable effort in organizing their lives to achieve and maintain positive emotional states.
He then considers a number of universal "themes" for achieving positive emotions:
- Establishing connections with other people
- Being reunited with a person to whom you have an attachment
- Sexual relations, though this evokes a range of emotional states
- The birth of a wanted child is a happy event in most cultures
- Being in the presence of loved ones
- The achievement of a major goal
- The evasion of a serious threat
He returns again to the notion of contentment, an "overall sense of subjective well-being." The subjectivity of contentment is seen in the contrast between people and cultures: one person is quite content in a situation that another might find intolerable. The things a person needs to be content, aside of universal survival needs and a lack of negative stimuli, are highly idiosyncratic.
There is a side note about the correlation of happiness and money - or to be more precise, it is about purchasing power, which may be derived from wealth or income. In every culture there is a specific level of purchasing power that correlates with contentment, though again it is different between cultures and individuals.
Another side note considers extraversion and introversion, which determines the degree to which an individual's happiness depends on external factors, mainly the behavior of other people. The introvert is less susceptible to the need to please other people in order to experience happiness.
Optimism is also a significant factor in individual happiness. A person who expects a positive outcome is generally happier than one who does not - though pessimists are more likely to experience the emotion of relief because they are prone to expect a negative outcome.
The expression of happiness can be difficult to detect, particularly in cultures where people are expected to exhibit happiness as a matter of course. He mentions Duchenne's studies in this area, and the expression of the genuine smile.
While the expression of genuine happiness can be recognized, the precise nature of the positive emotion is more difficult to ascertain because it depends largely on context and subjective evaluation.