"We are happier than we have ever been"

For many, experiencing nature equals happiness. Photo: Per Larsson.

Today is Valentine's Day. Kindness and love are both associated with happiness – and have been so throughout history. Almost 2,500 years ago, the philosopher Socrates asked himself how people should live in order to be happy.

Erik Angner is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University and also holds a PhD in Economics. He has been researching happiness and well-being for many years and is currently writing a book on the subject. He also lectures on happiness research, both for students and for the general public. Once, even in an American "maximum security" prison.

Do you need to be happy to live a good life?

"Happiness is great in every way. But among philosophers, we mostly agree that happiness is neither necessary nor sufficient for a good life, and that happiness should not be the sole goal of political and other endeavors. There are many other things that are important in life, and it is possible to live a good life even if you choose not to live happiness in favor of other values. Happiness is just one dimension of several," says Erik Angner.

According to him, happiness is largely influenced by subjective factors such as ambitions and expectations. The one who does not expect to get a good grade and gets a mediocre one may feel greater happiness than the one who expected a good one but gets the same mediocre one. Since subjective factors play such a big role, it becomes possible to "manipulate" happiness by influencing the expectations that are built up.

How do you do research on happiness?

"Empirically, it is possible to ask people questions about how happy they consider themselves to be and ask them to rate this on a scale. These responses can then be statistically related to other things we care about, such as experiences, activities, personality types, and characteristics such as health. In philosophy, we also often work with thought experiments, where we confront our intuitions with case studies.

Are we happier today than we used to be?

"The trend over time is positive, so from that perspective we are happier than we have ever been. This is especially true in a prosperous country like Sweden. Research shows that economic development is associated with increasing happiness, even among rich countries. The science is literally 100 years old, so there are extensive data sets to lean on.

When are you feeling most happy?

Erik Angner, feeling happy in Bellagio in northern Italy. Photo: Elizabeth Blum

"When I'm out in nature with my family. Although it can be difficult to get the children outside, they usually quickly find something to do once we are out in nature. Research shows that nature experiences have significantly large and rapid positive effects on people. My guess is that a nature walk is by far the most cost-effective bet of luck. Nature walks are also accessible to almost everyone.

Erik Angner also highlights the happiness of working in a workplace surrounded by nature and with swimming opportunities close by. In addition, within walking distance of home, through beautiful nature.

New summer course on happiness and the good life

This summer, the Department of Philosophy at Stockholm University will start a new summer course. It is worth 7.5 credits and is given as a distance course in English. The course is called Happiness and the Good Life.

Erik Angner is one of the lecturers. He says that the course is suitable for those who are generally curious to learn more about happiness research as well as those who want to broaden their education, for example for psychology and medical students. Among other things, the course participants get a historical overview of the view of happiness and get to know what today's research says about happiness.

Applications for the summer courses open on February 19 and close on March 15.

Read more and apply to Happiness and the Good Life