Positive psychology makes a distinction between subjective wellbeing, social wellbeing and psychological wellbeing. The literature of positive psychology makes use of different terminologies to name positive affective states and some of them are not yet clarified. For instance, there is a confusion of terms – what Seligman (2002, p.115) prefers to call ‘gratification’, Csikszentmihalyi (2002) calls ‘enjoyment’. These confusions suggest that psychological understanding of affective states is still a work in progress (Kristjánsson, 2010). On the other hand, the complexity of terminology goes to show that pleasure, happiness and wellbeing lies in a spectrum of psycho-social states with a varying degree of valence.
Pleasure
Positive psychology suggests that pleasure (largely understood as hedonia) is not negative in itself. It has a limitation insofar as exaggerations are concerned. The exaggeration in intensity could lead to euphoria, and the exaggeration in frequency and duration could lead to habituation. Subsequently, the state of euphoria could […]
Enjoyment
Sermon for Cycle A – 22nd Sunday Homily: Discipleship & Spirituality
Sunday Homily for
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
The headlines of the past week’s newspapers here inLondonhave been about the fall of the former Libyan leader. I was wondering why the man with so much accumulated wealth and power could not have saved himself in good time so as to continue to enjoy at least part of his wealth and power. Unfortunately, perhaps his inflated instinct to save himself got the better of him. He might not enjoy anymore the possibilities that existed for him even a few months ago. “For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it” (Mt 16:25a).
On the other side of the globe, the headlines in the Indian subcontinent have been about a poor, unmarried man (Anna Hazare) who suddenly shot to fame because he went on a fast unto death campaign, joined by hundreds of thousands of supporters, pressing the government ofIndiato […]