Morality and Happiness: A Deep Dive

Changing Colours of Human Happiness

• Human morality and happiness are inherently connected.
• We need to understand what causes us to disregard human suffering.
• Empathy is a crucial human characteristic, however, we are losing it.
• Moral disengagement may be affecting our empathy and causing us to feel indifferent to others.

Clarifications about Morality

• Happiness can impact moral judgments.
• Morality can also lead to happiness.
• Biology and morality are intrinsically intertwined, and the frontal lobe plays a vital role in our moral decision-making.
• We tend to be morally grounded if we possess positive personality traits.
• Negative personality traits can coexist with positive ones.
• Moral standards can be dynamic, and our moral compass can change, although certain fundamental values may remain consistent.
• Morally grounded individuals tend to have excellent mental health and a good grasp of their well-being.
• Moral standards can be universal; however, they are often shaped by culture and social norms.
• Morality develops as we age, and we often express our moral values more effectively as we gain experience.

Human Misery

• Various forms of human misery exist, such as racial discrimination, domestic violence, mob lynching, dehumanization, public apathy, and stigmatization.

Why are we losing empathy?

• "News Fatigue" can desensitize us to tragedies.
• Worry and stress can lead to "Cellular Aging", which contributes to apathy and loss of empathy.
• Selective apathy enables us to avoid the distress of others.
• Some people consciously suppress empathy to avoid psychological distress.
• Online interactions can hinder in-person connections and reduce empathy.
• The loss of empathy weakens our social bonds.

Why are we losing morality?

• We are often willing to sacrifice our well-being for others, suggesting intrinsic values and empathy drive our behavior.
• Several motivation factors can contribute to acts of giving and sacrifice, including diplomacy, values, peer pressure, warm glow, deep love/attachment, empathy, and detachment/compassion.

PERMA

• PERMA is a positive psychology model created by Martin Seligman, focusing on well-being and happiness.
• It consists of five building blocks:
  • Positive emotions
  • Engagement
  • Relationships
  • Meaning
  • Achievement

Knowing and Doing

• The self-learning process involves understanding ourstrengths, weaknesses, behaviours, and how we interact with others.
• Understanding others, caring about them, and leading by example are essential for personal and professional growth.
• Traits are developed qualities that influence our behaviour.
• Habits are built upon our traits and affect our actions.

Virtues

• Virtues are morally good traits that are valued as fundamental principles for a good moral life.

Leadership

• Leadership requires understanding oneself, others, and the power of traits and character strengths.

Character Strengths

• Character strengths contribute to personal growth and are closely linked to PERMA and virtues.

Pro-Sociality

• Pro-social behaviour involves actions that help others or contribute to the well-being of society.

Giving in Buddhism

• Buddhism views giving as a form of spiritual practice with various motivations and forms:
  • Humanity-centric giving: Driven by altruism and love for humanity.
  • Community-centric giving: Motivated by peer pressure, social reward, and tradition.
• These forms of giving are categorized as Sattvika, Madhyam, Dhruv, Dharm, dana, Kriyapeksha, Utsarga, Priyadarshi Patnaik.

This quiz explores the intricate relationship between human morality and happiness. It delves into how empathy, moral disengagement, and personality traits shape our moral judgments and overall well-being. Gain insight into how biological factors influence our moral decision-making.