Do you think that material items can bring happiness?

I think the idea that they can't bring any kind of happiness is PC nonsense.

Yeah, of course, material things are not going to bring happiness by themselves. A person needs much more than that to be truly happy, but there's no reason that material items can't increase happiness.

For instance, one could buy a material item that they feel makes them more attractive, thus making them more confident, thus increasing their happiness a bit.

One might enjoy cars, so if they buy a nice one to play around with, their happiness is increased.

One might argue that the happiness they bring is temporary, but then again, alot of happiness is temporary.

Agree or disagree?

They bring temporary happiness, like all things I guess.

Yes,they can.

enhance, not bring/createrawsavon

Just out of curiosity, what do you think brings/creates happiness?

maybe not but they do make being unhappy way more comfortable.

[QUOTE="rawsavon"]enhance, not bring/createGreySeal9

Just out of curiosity, what do you think brings/creates happiness?

A lot of material things enable activities that one couldn't otherwise engage in. A gaming PC allows one to have fun playing video games, a guitar allows one to have fun and be creative while playing music.

Personally, having a $10,000 vase or something just sitting in my house wouldn't make me even slightly happier, so I don't feel like merely owning things leads to happiness. But, I do think material posessions can make someone happier by enabling them to do things they otherwise couldn't.

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

[QUOTE="rawsavon"]enhance, not bring/createrawsavon

Just out of curiosity, what do you think brings/creates happiness?

I'm not quite sure if I'm talking about happiness or contentment. :lol: I think I'm talking about contentment leaning towards happiness. I think that contentment can lean towards happiness or towards apathy.

Good post tho. I think your baseline theory makes sense.

money can't buy happiness.

it can however buy whatever the hell else you want.

After intialy responding NO, I have thought about it and conclude that Yes, items can stimulate happiness, but the effect is only momentary.

Objects may stimulate positive feelings for a person. As well, an object can also stimulate negative feelings for a person. These feelings are dependant on how that person has formed a perspective of the object within their own sensory capacities. It's not the object, it's the reletionship the person has formed to the object that governs these responses.

Happieness is generated within the physical processes of the human and may only be sustained in this manner. Objects may bring a persons attention temporarly to a specific state of feeling, but it is only fleeting. And always maintained within their own body. So the relevance of objects to ones happieness is always immediate, or not at all. A sustained happieness, can only be achieved within ones own body, and cannot be relieved by a continual source of outside stimulation.

Only people without them would think they do.musicalmac

my wii makes me happy.

In a way. They can make me happy, if only for a season. Though, I prefer being around family and friends, that's when I'm truly happy. Though, I believe money can buy happiness, in a way, if you spend it on other people. :p

Ever seen someone look sad while riding a jet ski? I don't think so.SilentFireX

Certain things can. For a short while at least.

They can for me, even if only temporarily.

Ever seen someone look sad while riding a jet ski? I don't think so.SilentFireX

Daniel Tosh standup?

No, they will make you happy for a little while but you always end up wanting more

If I am alreadyhappy, material items can amplify this happiness. If I am not already happy, I feel nothing from these items.

So, yes. They do (sort of).

It depends on how old you are and what kind of person you are I suppose. When I was a kid and I got a new toy, I was as happy as happy could be. Now if I get a new game, sure, it's nice. I'm happy. But it doesn't really mean much. I'm 47 years old and about 99.9% of my happiness comes from my wife and kids, and from a general feeling of fulfillment at having done a moderately good job with the whole life thing. I guess money has something to do with that though - if we were flat broke and had bill collectors harassing us seven days a week, it would be damned hard to be happy. Having enough money in the bank so you don't have to worry about all that crap makes it a whole lot easier to enjoy the good things in your life.

Some people just live for their careers though. I don't know if that makes them "happy" or just makes them feel superior.

enhance, not bring/createrawsavon

very true. if you are a sad person, it depends how sad you are, but some people it doesnt matter how much money or things they have they will stay sad. and i've seen plenty of homeless/poor people that were very happy too.

One might argue that the happiness they bring is temporary, but then again, alot of happiness is temporary.

Agree or disagree?

Happiness is only a concept you can strive for, true happiness can never be achieved. Due to the natural psychology of people they will always find something to complain about, something they don't have and want. Material things only bring temporary satisfaction and it is addictive so people feel the need to consume more and more which brings them a sense of "happiness" you could say but they are just going to think of what else they need and their neverending insecurities prevent them from ever reaching true self-fulfillment. I believe happiness is something everyone should attempt to bring into their lives in whichever ways they see natural and reasonable, after all what would be the point of living without ever having what you would like. Life can be difficult and frustrating but everyone deserves a chance to have some fun with it. If you're shallow and material things light up your world then that's good for you, I'd like to live with such a simple frame of mind myself unfortunately my brain does not function like that.

Of course they can.

Bob the Builder: Yes it can!!

Video games make me happy. Nothing like getting home after a long day and getting completely absorbed into a game to forget about all stressers

In most cases yes . . . I am very materialistic, But it's greatly influenced by my religious beliefs which I don't want to bore you with . . . However as from what I've experienced the happiness it brings is just temporary, the happiness that you get from the material is the idea of having them in the first place, second is what they can really offer . . . Once you get used to having them around and some new thing comes out, you'll feel the same way as you were before you had that specific thing, perhaps even better . . .

TC, are women possessions or people?

I play my life by Sims rules. Every item gives me a notch on my happiness meter. xXDrPainXx

TC, are women possessions or people?

surrealnumber5

Women are people, but some can sometimes be rented.

yep my xbox makes me a happy tak

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"]

TC, are women possessions or people?

tenaka2

Women are people, but some can sometimes be rented.

Ultimately - no. Material items may make one feel happy, for a time. But, as with all states, this is conditional and temporary. For instance: you buy a video game. You feel excited, happy, you can wait to get home to play it. You put it into your console and begin playing. Yeah, you get that rush for awhile. Then 10-15 hours (of gameplay) later you've beaten the game. Playing through it again becomes mundane. It no longer offers you that rush that you feel is happiness, so you begin craving a new game to play.