Happiness and Intelligence

"Knowledge increaseth suffering". That's in the bible somewhere. It is wisdom you should seek if you desire happiness and inner peace, which is what I'd like for myself and for the world. Intelligence or awareness may be knowing, but wisdom is understanding. What good is it to see the world through a lens of concentrated intellect, with no wisdom to reason it all out?

Science is the tree of death (knowledge of good and evil). Art (and wisdom) is the tree of life.

William Blake said this, not me, but I agree.

 

I disagree. I feel that the truly intelligent, though they may feel disappointed to realize that the majority is unintelligent and may feel like an outcast and therefore have ill feelings, will ultimately accept this in his or her wisdom that the individual's happiness need not rely on the intelligence of others and therefore can take pride in who one is a person. Otherwise, we must assume that all people, regardless of intelligence, should wish either that A. everyone be like ourselves, which is selfish, and egotistical or B. we should be like everyone else in order to fit in and feel accepted, which is conformity (both of which would lead to an immoral, dehumanizing society or population of no individuality whatsoever).

In short, accept people for who they are, even if they are comparably stupid. Life would be boring if we were all the same (though a world of all geniuses would seem ideal).

 

I guess it depends upon what we mean by 'intelligence'. Intelligence has become another name for the psychologist's love of measurement i.e IQ. And there are - in my experience - a lot of so-called 'intelligent' people who are pretty dim, unaware, ignorant etc, many of who hold PhDs or high staus position in life normally assciated with being 'intelligent'. EQ or emotional intelligence - for me - is a little closer to intelligence as 'awareness, insight, etc', but then again, is yet another psychologist construct.

I have a feeling that what you are maybe pointing to is a much more interesting definition of intelligence and that is what I might call existential awareness - the willingness and capacity to be aware of our individual place in the world and to question meaning and examine experience in a humane, and ultimately much more holistic way which incorporates thinking and feeling. To me, that is the kind of intelligence that has heightened my own personal sense of aloneness and separateness from others, particularly those who appear not to be too concerned with what it is to exist.

 

The assumption in this definition is that Mankind is well set to mutual trust for the individuality of the place; however, there is hope, I believe, in individuality surpassing the place for aloneness and separateness to the place of accomplished Trust, pensee-pensant, thinking of what to do; maybe it's Nick's cafe; the wind kind of blew me down.

Better than Washington over-all these days.:cheers2:

 

Interesing. But I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. Can you please put that in simpler language? Thanks

 

<blacked out> Can't trust those humans.

 

Yea...

Someone already said it: It is impossible to be smart and to be happy when you live amongst idiocy.

 

Interesting Thread. Allthough i would agree with the OP, Yummy's post too. I would agree, in time a person either accepts what he is, and is able to take it in, or finds a way to cope with it or just begin to conform.

But i guess the in between is the toughest, the refusal to be like them or continue to feel somewhat outcasted.

 

How does one translate broad to chick in my mother tongue? Broad was for the downtown, and chick was for the surrounding country, distant suburbs. It didn't really matter, you kna'..uw. Maybe that BROAD is a valley girl.

 

The end is still expecting happiness, but the End cannot justify Justificationalism itself. As much as it was easy to end...

Alas I am a conservative topic of Happiness for unfulfilled desires, but I can always say sad freedom RELAxxx.

 

Nice post. Totally agree. With intelligence comes an ego that is never satisfied. Service to others is the solution. What you give is what you get.

 

What did existentialism say for service? I think it is in the later books: Man is the greatest enemy of himself. He is responsible adequately for happiness, but really He believed it and was better off responsible to nobody.

Now we can remember Voltaire.

Made my day.

 

It's a silly Romantic/Platonic prejudice that "intelligence" (here defined in the most narrow of terms) leads to unhappiness.

I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

I agree with sathead which made me adequately responsible. Now the picture of Clint Eastwood.

 

Conceit and rigid preconceptions do lead to unhappiness, however. But what do I know.

 

I think they often coincide, but I don't think you have to be stupid to be happy. It's normal for people to get depressed by their intelligence, but I think anyone who allows themselves to be depressed for prolonged periods PURELY because of their intelligence can't be THAT smart really.

People talk about awareness and the awful truth. They don't seem to grasp that intelligence doesn't ONLY make you aware of things that are terrible. Intelligence can raise one's ability to become aware of things, but it is our outlook that decides what those things are, and whether we focus on the good or the bad. The idea that the world just does get worse the more you pay attention is fun as an anecdote but doesn't really bear out.

Let's not forget also: there are a fair amount of stupid people who aren't happy.

 

That is all very well, but let us cultivate our garden.

 

Intelligence makes it harder to live with self-delusion, wishful thinking, willful ignorance, and makes us more critical of and indifferent to bland, mindless external stimulation. For me happiness has to be earned and worked for and it comes with much difficulty and rigor, responsibility to myself and whatnot; but this burden is no cause for lament, it is a stipulation of happiness and because I know this, it is even enjoyable in itself. Personal evolution is are prerequisite for happiness. So long as I am in a state of evolution I can permit myself happiness

 

If you're smart enough, surely you can find happiness despite the stupidity that surrounds you.

 

I'd say there are a few levels.

So stupid one's life will most likely turn out in misery.

Stupid enough to be blissfully ignorant and easily amused but smart enough hold things together and live purposefully, albeit ignorant of that purpose.

Balancing both, perhaps a little self-deceiving and willfully ignorant of some things. Meaning and purpose are often arbitrarily contrived.

Smart enough to be aware of the ugly truth and unhappy, feeling hopeless and unable to thrive in a world that's far from perfect, indifferent to us, inherently meaningless, etc.

Smart enough to be aware of the truth and forge happiness despite meaninglessness, injustice, mass stupidity, etc.

Dumb fuck gangsters and trailer trash, scum of the earth types are first, smarter religious people are near the middle, second from last are a large percentage of nihilists, although they won't admit it. The final point is of course existentialists, whether they know that they're existentialists or not. Albert Camus's writings come to mind. Sisyphus was happy, right?