Will Wilkinson on Happiness Research

>>I would like to say to Richard Layard or Robert Frank, "You can have all the status points you want, if you would just agree to shut up about public policy." But, given their tastes, such an offer is self-contradicting.

Amen, brother. Amen.

Robert Frank is pure eeevil.

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Yup. That's right. All lefties' policy opinions are merely tools in their endless quest for self-importance.

Anyone else think this sounds suspiciously like one of those nasty Type M arguments Arnold purports to hate so much.

Type M arguments are about the alleged motives of individuals who advocate policies ... Type M arguments deny the legitimacy of one's opponents to even state their case. Type M arguments do not give rise to constructive discussion. They are almost impossible to test empirically.

Pots, kettles, etc.

It's true that Arnold does go for a type M here (and does deserve criticism for the cheap dig), but I'd add in his defense that it's a tangent at the end of his post, and if you excised the last paragraph this post would not really lose anything. In a post whose subject was Richard Layard or Robert Frank (I don't know who either is) it would be less forgivable.

TGGP,

Maybe I'm wrong, but I guess the reference seemed more than tangential to me, given that Layard and Frank are two of the biggest proponents of the whole line of happiness research, which is precisely what the whole post is about.

On the other hand, I do think there's an interesting question about the potential value of type M arguments. If we're interested in overcoming bias, then reasonable assessments of others biases are likely to be very valuable. The problem is (as I suspect Arnold is here) that we tend to be biased in those assessments.

I stand corrected on the relevance of Layard and Frank.

Interesting posting! What ever happened to the simple, eternal, universal truths that have proven through time to bring happiness and spiritual success..

"Be Guided By Goodness • Fuel Your Life With Fun • Passion Is Empty Without Compassion • Profit From Your Mistakes • Beating Yourself Up Reinforces Errors You Want To Avoid • Drive Discipline With Desire • Make Decisions Not Judgments • Schedule Your Time Not Your Tasks • Be Driven By Desire NOT Duress • See Obstacles NOT Problems • Focus On How You Want To Feel • Touch Each Person You Meet With A Positive Spirit • Love Propels Happiness

The key to lasting happiness is learning how to make yourself happy, not in trying to find things that make you happy. The first is an internal skill set, learning to create our own happiness, the latter requires us to look outside of ourselves for happiness.

Michele Moore - author of
How To Live A Happy Life -
101 Ways To Be Happier
http://HappinessHabit.com
http://HappinessBlog.com