In Artificial Intelligence:
The view that happiness is a reinforcement state can apply to some non-biological
systems as well, such as a program or robot could be said to be "happy"
when it is in a state of reinforcing previous actions that led to satisfaction
of its programmed goals. For instance, imagine a search engine that has
the capacity to gradually improve the quality of its search results by
accepting and processing feedback from the user regarding the relevance
of those results. If the user responds that a search result is good (i.e.
provides positive feedback), this tells the software to reinforce (by
adjusting variables or "weights") the decision path that led
to those results. In a sense, this could be said to "reward"
the search engine. However, even if the program is made to act like it
is happy, there is little doubt that the search engine has no subjective
sense of being happy. Current computing technology merely implements abstract
mathematical programs which lack the causal and creative power of natural
systems. This does not preclude the possiblity that future technologies
may begin to blur the distinction between such machine happiness and that
experienced by an animal or human.
Behaviors and emotions associated with happiness:
The following behaviors and emotions are commonly associated with happiness:
Material:
- money and business, prosperity
- food
- massage
- using certain psychiatric or recreational drugs
- refuge - taking from the material things in life, getting back to nature.
Social:
- freedom
- peace
- nonviolence
- closure
- shopping
- friendships (also penpals)
- dating
- flirting
- gifts
- greeting cards and postcards
- family and parents
- lifestyles and alternative lifestyles
- music
Emotional:
- kissing
- sexuality
- love
- romantic relationships and romance
- compassion
- pets and animals
Spiritual:
- Tantra
- religion
- philosophy, Epicurus, Epicureanism
- spirituality
- meditation and yoga
- enlightenment
Other:
- sleeping
- drinking, alcohol
- hobbies
- decoration
- sports
- science
- books
- work
- cinema
- expanding knowledge, reading and learning new things
- Epicurus taught that although it is good to satisfy our natural desires for food and drink, pleasures often conceal painful consequences.