Happy Like God

Happy Like God

By SIMON CRITCHLEY

Gordon M. Grant for The New York Times

What is happiness? How does one get a grip on this most elusive, intractable and perhaps unanswerable of questions?

I teach philosophy for a living, so let me begin with a philosophical answer. For the philosophers of Antiquity, notably Aristotle, it was assumed that the goal of the philosophical life — the good life, moreover — was happiness and that the latter could be defined as the bios theoretikos, the solitary life of contemplation. Today, few people would seem to subscribe to this view. Our lives are filled with the endless distractions of cell phones, car alarms, commuter woes and the traffic in Bangalore. The rhythm of modern life is punctuated by beeps, bleeps and a generalized attention deficit disorder.

But is the idea of happiness as an experience of contemplation really so ridiculous? Might there not be something in it? I am reminded of the following extraordinary passage from Rousseau’s final book and his third (count them — he still beats Obama 3-to-2) autobiography, “Reveries of a Solitary Walker”:

If there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there, with no need to remember the past or reach into the future, where time is nothing to it, where the present runs on indefinitely but this duration goes unnoticed, with no sign of the passing of time, and no other feeling of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts, we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul. (emphases mine)

This is as close to a description of happiness as I can imagine. Rousseau is describing the experience of floating in a little rowing boat on the Lake of Bienne close to Neuchâtel in his native Switzerland. He particularly loved visiting the Île Saint Pierre, where he used to enjoy going for exploratory walks when the weather was fine and he could indulge in the great passion of his last years: botany. He would walk with a copy of Linneaus under his arm, happily identifying plants in areas of the deserted island that he had divided for this purpose into small squares.

Our lives are filled with endless distractions, but is the idea of happiness as an experience of contemplation really so ridiculous?

On the way to the island, he would pull in the oars and just let the boat drift where it wished, for hours at a time. Rousseau would lie down in the boat and plunge into a deep reverie. How does one describe the experience of reverie: one is awake, but half asleep, thinking, but not in an instrumental, calculative or ordered way, simply letting the thoughts happen, as they will.

Happiness is not quantitative or measurable and it is not the object of any science, old or new. It cannot be gleaned from empirical surveys or programmed into individuals through a combination of behavioral therapy and anti-depressants. If it consists in anything, then I think that happiness is this feeling of existence, this sentiment of momentary self-sufficiency that is bound up with the experience of time

Look at what Rousseau writes above: floating in a boat in fine weather, lying down with one’s eyes open to the clouds and birds or closed in reverie, one feels neither the pull of the past nor does one reach into the future. Time is nothing, or rather time is nothing but the experience of the present through which one passes without hurry, but without regret. As Wittgenstein writes in what must be the most intriguing remark in the “Tractatus,” “the eternal life is given to those who live in the present.” Or ,as Whitman writes in “Leaves of Grass”: “Happiness is not in another place, but in this place…not for another hour…but this hour.”

Rousseau asks, “What is the source of our happiness in such a state?” He answers that it is nothing external to us and nothing apart from our own existence. However frenetic our environment, such a feeling of existence can be achieved. He then goes on, amazingly, to conclude, “as long as this state lasts we are self-sufficient like God.”

God-like, then. To which one might reply: Who? Me? Us? Like God? Dare we? But think about it: If anyone is happy, then one imagines that God is pretty happy, and to be happy is to be like God. But consider what this means, for it might not be as ludicrous, hybristic or heretical as one might imagine. To be like God is to be without time, or rather in time with no concern for time, free of the passions and troubles of the soul, experiencing something like calm in the face of things and of oneself.

Why should happiness be bound up with the presence and movement of water? This is the case for Rousseau and I must confess that if I think back over those experiences of blissful reverie that are close to what Rousseau is describing then it is often in proximity to water, although usually saltwater rather than fresh. For me, it is not so much the stillness of a lake (I tend to see lakes as decaffeinated seas), but rather the never-ending drone of the surf, sitting by the sea in fair weather or foul and feeling time disappear into tide, into the endless pendulum of the tidal range. At moments like this, one can sink into deep reverie, a motionlessness that is not sleep, but where one is somehow held by the sound of the surf, lulled by the tidal movement.

Is all happiness solitary? Of course not. But one can be happy alone and this might even be the key to being happy with others. Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud when walking with his sister. However, I think that one can also experience this feeling of existence in the experience of love, in being intimate with one’s lover, feeling the world close around one and time slips away in its passing. Rousseau’s rowing boat becomes the lovers’ bed and one bids the world farewell as one slides into the shared selfishness of intimacy.

…And then it is over. Time passes, the reverie ends and the feeling for existence fades. The cell phone rings, the e-mail beeps and one is sucked back into the world’s relentless hum and our accompanying anxiety.

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Jesse Ventura Interview

The Chicago Sessions (Marije Meerman, VPRO 2009)

This video is amazing in many ways but definitely get a chance to watch 35 minutes in, for the discussion on happiness.

Dasha Polzik makes an amazing philosophical point emphasized by the great Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

She mentions, inspired by Rousseau's work, that happiness is the relationship in the gap between what you want and what you're able to get.

Bravo mademoiselle, for your insight, and may we look back on the great thinkers in history, remembering the jewels of knowledge they uncovered that we staunchly ignore.

Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street (Marije Meerman, VPRO Backlight 2010)

Turkish anger at US Armenian 'genocide' vote

Armenian-Americans have lobbied for official use of the word "genocide"

Turkey has reacted angrily to a US congressional panel's resolution describing as genocide killings of Armenians in World War I.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had been accused of a crime it did not commit, adding the resolution would harm Turkish-US relations.

Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations and says it is considering other responses.

Correspondents say it is still an extremely sensitive issue in Turkey.

The government of Turkey, a key American ally and fellow Nato member, had lobbied hard for the American Congress not to vote on the issue.

The White House had also warned that the vote would harm reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia.

Delegation

The resolution was narrowly approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

It calls on President Barack Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide" and to label the World War I killings as such in his annual statement on the issue.

It was approved by 23 votes to 22 by the committee.

ANALYSIS Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Washington Ankara has already withdrawn its ambassador from Washington for consultations - in reaction to what will be seen as a significant international insult. Washington will now be working hard to limit any further diplomatic fallout. As one of the United States' most important allies in the Muslim world, Turkey's influence is important on both Iran and Afghanistan. And the cheapest and safest way of extracting American soldiers from Iraq next year would be from neighbouring Turkey - if the diplomatic atmosphere permits.

A Turkish parliamentary delegation had gone to Washington to try to persuade committee members to reject the resolution.

The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says Turkey must be hoping that, as with a similar resolution two years ago, the issue will not come to the floor of the House for a full vote.

In 2007, it passed the committee stage, but was shelved after pressure from the George W Bush administration.

Turkey accepts that atrocities were committed but argues they were part of the war and that there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people.

The Armenian government welcomed the vote, calling it "an important step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity".

'Too important'

MASS KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-6 Many historians and the Armenian people believe the killings amount to genocide Turks and some historians deny they were orchestrated More than 20 countries regard the massacres as genocide Q&A: Armenian genocide dispute

During his election campaign Mr Obama promised to brand the mass killings genocide.

In October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord normalising relations between them after a century of hostility.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide, but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.

Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.

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China 'must reduce rich-poor gap' - Premier Wen

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing

Mr Wen set out policy goals for the coming year

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said China must reverse its widening income gap between rich and poor.

He said benefits of a growing economy - expected to expand by 8% this year - should be distributed more fairly.

In a major speech at the start of China's annual parliamentary session, the premier also said the economy needed restructuring.

He wants Chinese firms to improve their ability to innovate, producing high-tech and high-quality products.

The premier's comments came in a wide-ranging speech delivered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where the largely ceremonial parliamentary session is being held.

In the keynote speech, Mr Wen reviewed the government's work over the past 12 months and set out its policy goals for the coming year.

Registration reform

The speech touched on many issues, but on a number of occasions the premier spoke about the need to make China a fairer society.

"We will not only make the 'pie' of social wealth bigger by developing the economy, but also distribute it well," Mr Wen told about 3,000 delegates, returning to a theme that he has often spoken about during his premiership.

"[We will] resolutely reverse the widening income gap," he added later, in a speech that lasted more than two hours.

As part of that project, the premier said China would reform the household registration system that classifies people as either city or rural dwellers.

This controversial system means many migrant workers - farmers who travel to towns and cities to find better-paid work - are unable to get proper services.

"[We will] gradually ensure that they receive the same treatment as urban residents in areas such as pay, children's education, healthcare, housing and social security," he said.

But Mr Wen did not outline what policies would be introduced to achieve that aim, and when they would come into force.

And, importantly, he said reforms would only be carried out in towns and smaller cities, suggesting the system would remain in place in big urban centres such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Mr Wen also addressed what he called a "complex situation" facing the economy, which he said should expand by 8% this year.

Fuelled by innovation

Last year China was desperate to keep the economy growing following a global downturn that left many Chinese people without jobs.

But now, having weathered the worst of that crisis, Premier Wen said China needed to concentrate on restructuring the economy.

"This is a crucial year for…accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development," he said.

He wants future growth to be fuelled by innovation.

China should also expand consumer demand by getting people to spend on such things as tourism, fitness and other services.

Delegates to the Chinese parliament are appointed, not elected, but in his speech Premier Wen indicated that he does listen to those outside the government.

Many people across China are currently concerned about rising house prices that mean many cannot afford a home.

Mr Wen said China would do something about it.

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China's democratic 'window dressing'

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing

China is keen to refute accusations that it is a one-party state

University professor Xu Hui is a rare breed of politician in China - he is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Xu is the vice-chairman of the China Democratic League (CDL), one of eight non-communist political parties in China.

China's government makes a big deal of these parties in an attempt to prove that the country is not a one-party state.

Their members are taking part in this year's annual parliamentary session, which begins on Friday.

But while they do offer advice to the communists - and sometimes criticism - these parties are little more than "window dressing".

In reality, the Communist Party stifles genuine, open debate and often locks away those who express alternative political agendas.

The eight democratic parties, as they are termed, were formed before the communists took power in China in 1949.

They include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) and the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (CPWDP).

Mr Xu is vice-chairman of the biggest party, the CDL, which has more than 200,000 members scattered across the country.

Party members are, like Mr Xu, mostly intellectuals; many of them are involved in the education or health sectors.

The vice-chairman is currently in Beijing to take part in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body that meets at the same time as China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC).

Disagreements

As he relaxed in his hotel room before the start of the CPPCC, he told the BBC that his party plays a vital role in China's political system.

"We go to the countryside, we go to factories, and we go to schools and universities," said the softly spoken professor.

In our system it's much easier to reach agreement and to put our policies into reality Xu Hui

"We talk to people and try to sum up their problems, reach recommendations and then present our reports to the government."

Sometimes the government acts on this advice, sometimes it does not, said Mr Xu.

He said his party, on occasion, disagreed with the communist-led government - as with the pace of change in the education sector.

But the eight democratic parties do not get into public arguments with the communists - that is not their job.

Under the Chinese system, the role of these non-communist political parties is to advise the communists, not to challenge their position as the ruling party.

As the government states on its main website: "The [Chinese Communist Party] and the democratic parties are totally equal under the constitution, but politically the latter are subject to the leadership of the former."

They might be subject to communist control, but the existence of these parties allows the Chinese government to claim that the country is not a one-party state.

Showing people that they listen to those outside the communist party is important to China's leaders, according to Willy Lam, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He said the government has often put these non-Communist Party members in senior positions at both the central and provincial level.

But he added: "It's not too cynical to say that this is just window dressing."

'Not ready'

Real political debate is not encouraged by the government in China; it is conducted in internet chat rooms or in the privacy of people's own homes.

Liu Xiaobo: 20 years of activism Mystery of China's missing lawyer

People who openly challenge the government are often prosecuted.

Writer and dissident Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December for co-writing Charter '08, a manifesto calling for political change in China.

One of the things Mr Liu called for in the manifesto is an abolition of the Communist Party's monopoly on power.

But that is not something that Mr Xu thinks could - or even should - happen in China in the foreseeable future. He said the country is simply not ready for it.

Indeed, in some respects Mr Xu thinks China's political system has advantages over those used in the West.

"In our system it's much easier to reach agreement and to put our policies into reality," he said, referring to the lack of formal constraints on the ruling party's power.

"In some countries they spend a very long time discussing a small problem. If they cannot get agreement, the work is just put aside."

And that, for Mr Xu, appears to be the heart of the issue. Getting things done efficiently with the minimum of fuss - and no dissent - is the ideal system. No wonder the Communist Party likes him.

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Legal limbo stalls Thailand industry

New projects at the Map Ta Phut petro-chemical hub have been stalled

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, Bangkok

Thailand's economic prospects could be put in jeopardy because of a continuing dispute at a huge industrial complex.

Recent figures on GDP and exports have been encouraging for the Thai government.

But economists and investors are warning that two major factors have the potential to derail Thailand's nascent recovery.

One is political instability. The other is the legal morass at Map Ta Phut.

Map Ta Phut is one of the biggest petro-chemical hubs in the world.

It is the size of a small town built of gleaming steel pipes, storage tanks and chimney stacks, jutting out into the sea; an industrial peninsula clearly visible from the white sand beaches and fishing villages on either side.

Map Ta Phut has been driving Thailand's industrial growth for decades.

I want the government to know that we are suffering mentally as well as physically Noi, resident near Map Ta Phut

But last September the Constitutional Court put the brakes on.

Local environmentalists successfully argued that several new projects were in breach of pollution laws.

The laws were part of the 2007 constitution, but because there have been so many changes of government in Thailand in recent years, the regulations were never properly established.

Companies could not possibly comply.

Thailand's political turbulence left a legal loophole which was successfully exploited by the environmentalists.

The court ruled that more than 70 projects should be suspended.

Mr Chainoi says environmental guidelines have not been made clear

A handful have since been allowed to continue, but more than 60 projects remain stalled - 25 of those, some $4bn-worth (£2.6bn) of investment, belong to the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, PTT.

"It's not that we tried to evade or tried not to follow the new requirements," said Chainoi Puankosoom, the CEO of PTT Aromatics and Refining.

"It's just that we don't know how to follow it."

Mr Chainoi says his company has gone out of its way to ensure that all environmental and health impact assessments are completed properly.

But according to the law, those assessments should go before an independent panel of experts to be signed off. The panel has never been established.

Local complaints

The legal limbo has made investors, domestic and foreign, increasingly nervous.

Lenders and contractors are seeking reassurance that contracts will be honoured.

Japanese firms are involved in several joint ventures in Map Ta Phut.

Jo Jitsukata, president of the Japanese chamber of commerce in Thailand, warned that although current agreements were probably safe, if the dispute drags on, future investors might be deterred.

"From the investor's view, what's the rule?" he asked.

Juan said pollution from the Map Ta Phut complex was increasing

"Already we are committed to the projects and borrowed the money from the bank. That's a big problem for investors.

"Not only for the Japanese, but also Thai investors and other foreign investors."

The legal dispute may be recent, but the complaints of local villagers are long standing.

Juan, 67, and Noi, 71 have been living in the shadow of Map Ta Phut for 16 years.

Juan expertly wielded a well-worn hoe to remove weeds growing around her fruit trees as she talked.

As the industrial plant has grown, she told me, the air quality has got progressively worse.

"The mangoes are much smaller than they used to be," she said.

"The tree has flowers, but there is not so much fruit. And look at the dark dust on the banana leaves."

Juan's husband Noi sat quietly in the shade. Six of the elderly couple's relatives have died of cancer.

"Whenever I think about it I feel very bitter inside," Noi said, his voice cracking with emotion as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Noi said he doesn't know if pollution is to blame for his loss.

"I'm not a clever man," he said, but he wants his concerns taken seriously.

"I want the government to know that we are suffering mentally as well as physically."

Precedent set

The government is listening. It is now providing peripatetic clinics providing free health checks for local people.

Samples of blood and urine are taken; eyes and skin are checked for any ailments.

There is even a mobile X-ray machine, mounted inside a shiny new bus.

Mobile clinics check the health of people living near Map Ta Phut

The clinics fulfil two functions - providing basic care and reassurance for the local population while at the same time gathering potentially valuable data.

The government is also trying to sort out the legal limbo over Map Ta Phut.

A special committee, including representatives from all sides of the argument, has been set up to resolve outstanding differences.

Eventually, most, if not all, of the suspended projects will be allowed to continue. Thailand simply cannot afford its industrial heart to stop pumping.

Whatever the outcome, Suthi Achasai, one of the environmentalists who brought the legal case to court, believes the Map Ta Phut dispute has set an important precedent.

"People in other areas will now be more aware and more careful of any kind of development that's similar to this," he told me, as we stood next to the beach, with Map Ta Phut's distinctive skyline dominating the horizon.

"Lessons have been learned here. The private sector can't take things for granted anymore and the government knows it has to enforce the law."

Environmentalists like Suthi are demanding accountability. Investors want legal clarity.

Thailand's economic future depends on them learning to live together.

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How Chile's quake could have shortened a day

Nasa scientists believe Chile's devastating earthquake may have speeded up the Earth's rotation and shortened the length of a day.

Researcher Richard Gross and his colleagues at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California calculated that Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake could have cut 1.26 microseconds off the length of a day.

Not that anyone would notice however - as that's one-millionth of a second.

But why does movement in the Earth's crust give the planet an apparent turbo boost?

< href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/dhtml_slides/css/v2/styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> How an earthquake could shorten a day The Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is pinched in slightly at the poles and bulges at the equator. As such, it rotates with a wobble just like a spinning top. However, changes in the distribution of mass can affect this spin. In the same way a skater speeds up a spin by pulling in their limbs, a quake can make the Earth rotate faster by nudging some of its mass closer to the planet's axis. Movements in atmosphere and oceans can have a similar effect. Nasa calculates the quake in Chile shifted mass to such an extent that it changed the rotation rate to shorten a day by about 1.26 microseconds, or one millionth of a second. Source: Nasa, British Geological Survey The Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is pinched in slightly at the poles and bulges at the equator. As such, it rotates with a wobble just like a spinning top. However, changes in the distribution of mass can affect this spin. Brian Baptie, of the British Geological Survey, explains how the Earth's lack of rigidity is what allows changes to the planet's rotation - and the length of a day. "The earth is not rigid and movements of its constituent parts, including the atmosphere and oceans, occur. These effects introduce a wobble - a movement of the Earth's axis - which is small but detectable," he says. "A small wobble can be caused as a result of great earthquakes like the recent event in Chile and Indonesia on 26 December 2004, due to the movement of mass close to the earth's surface, but it will only be marginally detectable by the most sensitive instruments and is not a cause for concern." Using the same mathematical model as it used for Chile, the Nasa team had estimated the 9.1 Sumatran earthquake in 2004 would have shortened a day by 6.8 microseconds. But, as Nasa and other scientists also point out, the Earth's rotation rate changes all the time as a result of variations in winds and ocean currents, and doesn't have much practical consequence for people because of the tiny amount of time involved.

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What future for capitalism?

What future for capitalism?

Empire looks at the impact of US-style capitalism on economies across the world [AFP] Two years after the bubbles of the world's financial fantasy have burst with spectacular effect, millions have lost their homes, millions more have lost their jobs, and economies around the world continue to stumble. THIS MONTH'S GUESTS STUDIO GUESTS Professor Joseph Stiglitz Nobel prize-winning economist Tariq Ali Editor of the New Left Review Ann Pettifor Fellow of the New Economics Foundation Dr Ruth Lea Economic advisor for Arbuthnot Banking Group INTERVIEWEES David Rothkopf Author of Superclass: How the rich ruined our world Dr Christopher Davidson Author of Dubai: The vulnerability of success Joanna Tatchell Author of A Diamond in the Desert: Behind the scenes in the world's richest city Jim Krane Author of City of Gold: Dubai and the dream of Capitalism The West's masters of the universe had promised global prosperity, persuading much of the world to worship before the three gods of modern capitalism: privatisation; de-regulation; and global economic 'liberalisation'. But as their economic trinity unravelled, turning market fantasies into public nightmares, those same individuals and institutions responsible for the mess were called in to clean it, and pave the way for a better future. In the process, the banks that benefited mostly from crony capitalism and got us into this mess continue to reward themselves handsomely, as tax payers pick up the tab. Empire asks: What does the future hold for crony capitalism? And what are the alternatives to neo-liberal globalisation? This episode of Empire airs from Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1900; Sunday: 0300.

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Commentary

I'll try and find the episode on youtube where it's usually posted, but this was a VERY very good episode on globalization, regulation, and our financial collapse.

The ending as well was very good and put everything in perspective with a joke.