Happiness Haybron Analysis

Daniel Haybron defines happiness as something more than experiencing pleasurable moments. Pleasure, whether sensual, physical or sexual cannot, by itself make one happy. Haybron defines happiness using the life satisfaction theory. This theory states that happiness is “a judgement of one’s life” (Haybron, Happiness, 12). It also consists of three different aspects: endorsement, the level of engagement and state of attunement. If I were plugged into the Experience Machine I would not be happy. I will further discuss the following reasons as to why I would not be happy if I was plugged into The Experience Machine. The Experience Machine would not allow me to actually “do” certain things, it would not allow me to actually “be” a certain way and finally, is a man-made reality, therefore lacking causal depth.
Endorsement is based on feeling happy, for example feeling joy or sadness. Though endorsement is important we must keep in mind that these feelings are “emotions that quickly dissipate” (Haybron, Happiness, 20) because they are superficial and not deep. Engagement is simply how engaged you are with your life, “not bored, listless, and withdrawn, but energetic, interested, and engaged” (Haybron, Happiness, 20). Vitality and flow both makeup engagement. Vitality “what we might call the exuberance” (Haybron, Happiness, 20) is the excitement or passion you have for living. Next, “flow is the state you assume