Download Happiness and Agency

Happiness and Agency
Dr. Ari Santas
Modern authors, most notably, existentialist writers like Sartre (1905-80), saw agency and authenticity as key to human flourishing.
This need goes beyond self-confidence and self-esteem, as one can have a positive self-image without being someone worthy of that
opinion. The term ‘agent’ is historically juxtaposed to ‘patient’, where the former means ‘active’ and the latter means ‘passive.’ The
significance of this distinction in western philosophy is important, as it delineates the difference between “gross matter” and a living
being; and this signifies more than life in the sense of breathing, eating and procreating. True life, in a moral sense, requires action
to originate in the individual, which means behavior not simply a reaction to biological or otherwise physical impulses. Action, or,
agency requires behavior that is in some sense “self-wrought.”
Self-Confidence & Self-Control
Ancient authors like Plato (428-348 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC), following the example of Socrates, (470-399 BC), emphasized the
role of Reason in checking our impulses and bringing our appetites under rational legislation. They noted that persons who cannot
control their emotions become slaves to their passions; and that leads not only to self-destructive vices like drunkenness and poor
health, but also to violence and death. A person who can control them, on the other hand, is able to direct his or her life with
confidence and reflection. Stoic Philosophy, following in this vein, argued that the only sense in which one can be an agent is
through the exercise of reason in the control one’s emotions. Anger, fear, desire, and jealousy, emotions that could wreak havoc on
the lives of individuals and their loved ones, needed only clear reasoning to redirect their energies into morality and serenity. While
modern authors tend to reject this wholesale rejection of emotionality, the ancient idea that rationality and good reasoning have a
crucial role to play in our agency persists in contemporary thinking.
Self-Definition and Self-Actualization
Modern thinkers, perhaps because they find themselves in complex societies where individuals can easily disappear into a nameless,
faceless mass, see individuality as a key element in human agency. Since the early modern authors like Descartes (1596-1650) and
Locke (1632-1704), Western Philosophy has been preoccupied with developing a viable concept of a free individual making his or her
own decisions and leading a life of his or her own choosing. This idea is in some sense the core of what Thomas Jefferson called the
pursuit of happiness. As J.S. Mill (1806-1873) put it, “choosing one’s own good in one’s own way” should be a guaranteed allowance
in all social and political arrangements involving rational agents. But what does it really mean to be an individual? Surely not the
clothes we wear or the cars we drive, as the market would have us believe. There needs to be present a rational mind, and the
ability to understand the options available, but these are only the preconditions of individuality. There must be an element of selfdefinition in the paths we walk, a creative process in which we actualize the person we choose to be.
Self-Knowledge and Authenticity
When Sartre said we are “no-thing” he meant that, unlike things, we are what we choose to be. Agents choose their lives; they
don’t simply react to them. But to be able to do this we must know who we are; but this requirement is ultimately a profound one,
suggesting regular analytical reflection on one’s choices and actions. In this reflection, we must be on guard against the tendency
toward acting on bad faith, and engaging in self-deception. In short, our agency must be authentic, made with full knowledge of our
motives and impulses and willingness to act on their basis.
Happiness, Agency, and Film
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BBC: Socrates and Seneca are documentary films highlighting ancient authors on self-confidence and self-control.
What the Bleep Do we Know? is a documentary / feature film hybrid which speculates about the relationship between
contemporary physics and neuro-physiology and human choice and world-making.
Truman Show is a feature film about a man who is unwittingly the star of a reality TV show who has to discover who he is
and redefine his life and destiny.
Pleasantville is a feature film about two young people trapped in the flattened reality of a 1950’s TV show, who, in learning
how to actualize who they want to be, end up transforming the reality of the show’s characters in the process.
Little Miss Sunshine is a feature film about a dysfunctional family who are forced by circumstance to explore the deeper
meanings of success and beauty as they undergo a journey of misadventure and failure.
I ♥ Huckabees is a feature film highlighting the existential dilemmas of the characters, as they struggle to live authentically
in a world seemingly devoid of meaning and reason