What Is Happiness?

Praveen Amar was scrolling through the course offerings of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or OLLI, when one course caught his eye: The Philosophy of Happiness. 

“Those are two complicated words,” he said. “Philosophy is what you don't know, what you're trying to learn, and happiness is very elusive. I thought, well, that's got to be intriguing.” 

Complex indeed. Philosophies about what makes a happy life are etched into human history, from Aristotle to The Daily Stoic podcast. The search for happiness is a relentless quest that Luca Napora, a first-year graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences, finds personally meaningful and also enjoys sharing with others. 

Through OLLI, part of the lifelong learning mission of University College, Napora found a niche. In two-hour Friday morning sessions over six weeks this past winter, he guided participants in his course, The Philosophy of Happiness, in Zoom conversations around selected readings. 

Graduate student Luca Napora was inspired by a college course spanning varied philosophies of happiness to share that life-changing literature with adult learners.

His two dozen students, largely retirees, engaged in lively discussions in response to writings by thinkers such as Epictetus, Confucius, and Camus. 

While the readings covered a lot of ground, Napora believes the core tenets of happiness come down to finding meaning. “Meaning in your life, in your work, in friendships and relationship,” he said. “It seems to be a connecting thread across various philosophies.”    

 He encouraged students to share their different responses to questions as broad as they were deep. What role, for instance, does personal freedom play in finding happiness or finding community? Does the search for happiness also require a humble, service-oriented perspective? 

“It was amazing to hear and learn from students with such great life experiences,” said Napora. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Their passion for the material made my job effortless, fueling lively conversations and a strong sense of community.” 

Napora’s inspiration for developing the course was a similar course he took as a senior at The College of Wooster. At the time, he was a computer science major with a minor in philosophy, well positioned for a career in tech.  

But after taking a philosophy elective on happiness, he ultimately chose a different path; a self-described “outdoorsy guy,” he reconnected with his passion for the environment and applied to Tufts’ master’s program in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning. “It made me reflect more on what kind of life I wanted to live and where I could find meaning.” 

Napora’s course caught the attention of Diane Boettcher, a retired school counselor and administrator who volunteers on the OLLI executive board, because of its potential to generate ideas and thoughtful conversation. “I look for courses where there's going to be some good discussion,” she said.

One idea that resonated with her came from an article by Martin Seligman, a psychologist known for his work on positive psychology. The reading elucidated a belief that intervention can most effectively help people who are struggling through a focus on positive emotions, good things that bring enjoyment, and on using one’s unique strengths for a bigger purpose.  

Boettcher sees herself in those ideas. She’s grateful for her health and the freedom to fully enjoy life in her 70s, from travel adventures to invigorating bike rides, and she is using her strengths in the service of supporting the intellectual stimulation and camaraderie made possible by OLLI.  

“I'm a good organizer and good meeting-runner;” she said. “At the moment, the OLLI program doesn't have a membership chairperson, so I'm helping out.”  

Amar, who continues to work part-time as a science advisor to the State of New York’s environmental research program, said the class “reinforced my belief that what you do with your time is precious. It’s the aspirational part of your life that’s most important. To me, happiness is not a destination. It’s a kind of a path. It’s a journey toward something good.”

He was particularly drawn to the basic tenets of Buddhist philosophy as discussed in the class. Happiness from that vantage point comes down to living a simple life: “keep your expectations to a minimum, and do not get overtaken by the possession of things or attachments,” he said.  

In line with that approach, one of his happiest things to do is “going out to lunch with my wife and then talking a walk,” he said. And his brand new granddaughter “brings me great joy,” he added. “Even when I see her on FaceTime, it makes my day.” 

Another participant, Cy Hopkins, 86, found his interest piqued by ideas that were new to him, including those of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism. Bentham famously said, “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.” In other words, actions should be judged by consequences measured by a set of metrics, such as the intensity, duration, and certainty of pleasure or pain, in a “hedonic calculus.”

For Hopkins, the idea of measuring happiness with an equation was relatable. 

“I spent the past 15 years of my career measuring the quality of healthcare during a doctor’s visit,” he said, “where you are giving some weight to factors such as access, accuracy of diagnosis, sensitivity, empathy, and responsiveness. So Bentham’s school of philosophy resonated with me around that context of health statistics.”      

Taking OLLI courses such as the Philosophy of Happiness, he also noted, is in itself a source of ongoing happiness in retirement.

“The maxim here [at the retirement community] is ‘Do everything you can do that you want to do while you still can,’” Hopkins said. 

Pushing himself to stay busy—whether it’s to read philosophy for the class on happiness or to learn his lines for his part in an upcoming theater production—takes time and effort. “When they’re done, I take a breath and say, ‘Boy, that was a lot of work!’” he said. “But by the time I'm finished with that sentence, I say, ‘What can I do next?’”