Ethical Philosophy

Thinking Clearly in a World of Nonsense

Topic for Examination on November 24, 2013

Robert Emmons, PhD.

University of California, Davis

Gratitude

(Last revised November 23, 2013)

Summary

Practicing gratitude is good for your health, both physical and emotional.

Good information, thanks! There are of course a few obstacles to feeling grateful. But fortunately they can be overcome with practice. For example, negativism seems to be hard-wired into us by evolution. Just remember what Katharine Hepburn said to Humphrey Bogart in African Queen, “Nature, Mr. Alnut, is what we were put here to overcome.” Narcissism, projection, dependency issues and irrational assumptions do us no good anyway and can be helped by gratitude practice.

The more you practice gratitude, the happier and healthier you will be.

Happiness is a habit. Research on accident victims vs. lottery winners found that after 6 months, they were all pretty much back to where they were before.

Emmons’s Research Result

Robert Emmons, PhD. ten-week studies randomly divided participants into three groups. One group kept a journal listing all the good things they had to be grateful for during the past week. The second group journalized their hassles during that time and the third was a control group. Two later studies were variations on that theme.

First Study Results

The grateful groups:

“felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic.” (p. 30)

“were a full 25% happier than the other participants.”

“reported fewer health complaints and even spent

more time exercising than control participants.”

Second Study Results

“The gratitude condition increased more prosocial motivation…”

“motivates people to do good “significantly more positive affect and satisfaction with life…” (p. 33)

Third Study Results

“significantly more …satisfaction with life” (p. 33)

“getting more hours of sleep”

“spending less time awake before falling asleep”

feeling more refreshed upon awakening.”

“poor sleep quality have been identified as central indicates to poor overall well- being.”

“The frequency with which people practice gratefulness matters.”( p. 32)

Obstacles to Gratitude

# 1 Negative Bias - When “something significant” happens, we tend to react negatively. This presumably hard-wired tendency is called the Negativity Bias. Evolutionarily speaking, it would be like other biases (I am assuming) such as patternicity and agency. It has a survival value.

If our ancestors met a significant but harmless event without negativity, they were fine. If however, they met a dangerous event without caution, they probably died

The people of Pompeii who did not quickly assume that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was a negative thing …are on display today. Those who did assume the worst are also still dead. But presumably their descendents are walking around among us today.

Apparently, the tendency to meet change with negative (cautious, wary) assumptions was passed down to us from our surviving ancestors.

Therefore, without “conscious efforts to build…a grateful worldview, we lapse into negative patterns.” (p. 128) So we need to practice gratitude, just like exercise and Epicurean hedonism.

# 2 Narcissism – Narcissists cannot relate to the emotions of a gift giver. They just DO NOT FEEL THOSE FEELINGS and can’t imagine that anyone else can.

For example, during the many debates between Portland’s Bernie Deihler and men-of-the-cloth; ministers always say without a fear of God, I have no reason to be nice. What’s more, no one else has either. In saying that, they never seem to grasp that they are only talking about themselves. Other people, even atheists, can feel a reason to not pillage, plunder, rape and murder their fellows.

Narcissism maybe finally defined as people who (1) feel entitled,

(2) can identify fewer things to be grateful for and (3) fewer people to be grateful to; than most folks. They are just like the rest of us, only worse.

If you are narcissistic, there is no reason to be grateful for what is… rightfully yours.

# 3 Can’t Admit Dependency – Americans more that most nationalities find it hard to admit that they are dependent upon others. American men find it harder than American women.

The 2012 Republican Convention seized upon a comment by Obama to make the odd assertion that they do not need help from government on any level. They don’t use streets, laws, police protection, courts, medial care, a highway system, protected food, clean air or water. They got rich in a social vacuum. It seems to this reporter that much of what passes as political philosophy today, it actually psychopathy.

# 4 Projecting Negative Motives onto Benefactors – In order to make myself feel better in various ways, I assign base motives to those who do me a good turn.

Some mentioned are:

he is not just a better person than I am,

any expression of gratitude on my part is just too small to matter

I am entitled to it anyway,

he was just doing his job, etc.

# 6 Expecting Gratitude – People normally overlook or forget the good things they enjoy. Therefore, they seldom express gratitude. (p. 152)

If you expect gratitude from others, you will be constantly disappointed.

It’s hard to feel grateful when you constantly disappointed. So, don’t expect gratitude, then you won’t be disappointed.

Poor Condi, Dick, George & Don feel so underappreciated.>>>

My Advice:

Attribute your motives to your own happiness.

(“I just do it because I like that sort of thing.”)

# 3 Assuming Victim Status – If I am a victim, someone is harming me. It’s hard to feel grateful while being victimized.

Of course, everyone is a victim of history, and/or a beneficiary of history. Everyone is entitled to forgive himself because of the circumstances, rather than blame himself.

BUT DOES THAT DO YOU ANY GOOD?

and

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A WHOLE LOT WORSE!

victim of zombie attack in California (a party rental)

# 4 Too Busy to Take The Time – (p. 139) But what is your life? What is more important to you than life and happiness?

Think about that.

HOW TO DO IT

1. Keep A Journal – “writing helps organize thoughts and facilitate integration…accept your own experienced and put them into context”

2. Remember Worse Times: today could be a whole lot worse

3. Give Prayers of Gratitude

4. Come to Your Senses: What do you have? life? health? hemorrhoids?

5. Use Visual Reminders: signs, refrigerator door magnets, etc.

6. Make A Solemn Vow to Practice Gratitude: promise make actions more likely

7. Use Grateful Language: our words create how we feel

8. Fake It Till You Make It: Smiling etc. actually affect our feelings.

So, thanks everybody!

Richard Mohley

November 11, 2013

On A Personal Note

What do I have to feel thankful for, in order of importance, let’s see…

1. I’m alive.

2. I can walk, talk and chew gum, but little else, well a few other things. Ok, thanks.

3. I can afford to eat yogurt at Kell’s.

4. I was born a white guy in America, no small advantage apparently.

5. The religion of my family was neither homicidal nor suicidal.

6. I inherited a few bad genes, but have coping skills.

7. I have wonderful friends. And thanks Tom for bring up the topic!

Online Articles

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_stops_gratitude

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