Happiness as the Purpose of Education

What should be the purpose of education be? First president of Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi proposed that the goal of education should be derived from the purpose of life itself - and this is none other than happiness. In the following article, Makiguchi defines happiness and examine its relationship with wealth, virtue and health.

The Meaning of Happiness

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944)

Trying to explain happiness with words or idealistic philosophical conceptions would likely cause misunderstanding, since happiness is based in a person’s experience rather than in theory. Thus, since happiness is something that we experience in our daily lives, a few actual examples of happiness will be more effective than wordy explanations. In order to better understand the concept of happiness, we will examine its antithesis, unhappiness, and cite a few commonly held misconceptions in an effort to better delineate its general contours.

It may be appropriate to ask first if there is an ideal or purpose in life other than happiness. If so, it likely is based on an understanding of the concept of happiness different from mine or it may mistake an element or component of happiness for the whole. The word happiness can be interpreted in a variety of ways, depending on the experience of each individual. It is difficult to come to a common definition. Some persons might regard great monetary wealth as happiness and be satisfied; others may feel happiest with a high position or status in society. Many other examples could be listed, but they all stem from incomplete understanding of the concept of happiness.

I was once asked by a distinguished scholar if the entire goal of a person’s life could be explained by such a simple word as happiness. Clearly he did not think so. But if we conclude that the word happiness is not satisfactory, is there any other suitable word to take its place?

Other goals may seem to exist for humankind, but it is difficult to find a goal more encompassing than happiness. Some people may resist accepting happiness as the purpose of education because they consider it a selfish, personal goal, but as we examine it rationally as a social phenomenon in the following sections, we will find a broader definition of happiness that is a responsible goal of life.

Thus, one realisation that emerges from our consideration of happiness is that those persons who opt for some single sense of meaning in their lives, whether it be accumulation of wealth, achieving high social position, or something else, have confused the part for the whole, and in so doing have settled for something less than total well-being. Such choices can be attributed to an arrested development in forming a conception of happiness, a fixation upon some particular aspect of life to the exclusion of other equally vital human possibilities. This phenomenon leads us to see that we are talking about happiness not as a fixed mark to be achieved but as a sense of becoming. It is this dynamic, growthful nature of happiness that most concerns us educators. For implicit in the pragmatic orientation of education “for living, of living, and by living” is the understanding of both living and learning as process.

Our understanding of happiness has been enhanced in recent years by the development of the discipline of sociology. Kant was opposed to making happiness the purpose of education. However, I believe that he would have thought differently had sociology been developed at that time. Kant’s concept of happiness does not include a societal element. Prior to the development of sociology by Auguste Comte, society was not an object of cognition and hence was not taken into consideration by Kant.

With the new conceptual tools provided by the discipline of sociology, we can now, for example, more clearly distinguish between subjective and objective elements present in happiness as commonly conceived of by the members of a society. The very same environmental factors, that is to say, objective conditions, may yield two entirely different reactions from two persons or even from the same person on different occasions; one set of circumstances will one time bring happiness and unhappiness another. Moreover, we are all well aware that people may show every outward sign of well-being, much to the envy of all around them, and still regard themselves as unfulfilled and unhappy. Or again, the opposite situation may hold true. Thus, it is obvious that there are at least two sides to this question of happiness.

If we further break down the objective element into individual and societal requirements for happiness, we find that although neither can wholly exclude the other, the latter is particularly important. True happiness is not to be had completely on one’s own terms. We do not live alone. Directly or indirectly, the social environment impinges upon the individual, and any friction is bound to cancel out the seeming advantages of insisting on having things our own way. Instead of mere self-seeking, we must bear in mind that individual well-being entails co-operative and contributive existence within society if it is to last any length of time. Our lives will always be tied in with those of others. To ignore this is to fall into a narrow egoism. Such extreme subjectivity has no place in deciding the meaning of happiness, especially not as the purpose of our children’s education.

We cannot shut ourselves off from the concerns of the community. Even wealth cannot buy total isolation except at an inhuman cost. High walls and security guards to protect the most beautiful mansion might make carefree living possible for a while, but one day we would have to wake up to the mean and narrow-minded person we had become. Where is our happiness then? True happiness comes only through sharing in the trials and successes of other persons and of our community. Hence it is essential that any true conception of happiness contain the promise of full commitment to the life of the society.

Happiness and Wealth

If we are to arrive at a meaningful definition of happiness, it is essential to examine the relationship between happiness and wealth. No single element is so disruptive and damaging to the happiness of individuals and to the well-being of the society as a whole as that of wealth and the uses people make of it. Certainly there are few other aspects of life about which there is so much confused thinking with such disastrous results. Alfred Nobel put it well when he insisted that although it is possible to inherit property, it is impossible to inherit happiness. This is one of the most important lessons we can hope to learn in this age of ruthless competition and materialistic obsession. Rich and poor, management and workers alike may find no more vital realisation, especially if it allows even a moment’s pause in all the hatred and violence, than to reconsider what is really of value. If we could state these realities in such plain language that the message would reach everyone, I believe that people would begin to think about improving conditions in society, actively seeking the means to do so, and eventually bringing happiness to all.

But, unfortunately, at present most people seem to operate on the premise that if you can’t take it with you, then at least your children can take it on. The rich continue to amass wealth as though happiness could indeed be endowed along with status and property. Yet the more people stash away, the more it seems not enough, all because they have convinced themselves that their holdings will magically translate into happiness for their children. This is an illusion. It is more often the case that leaving great wealth for one’s children results in their inheriting unhappiness rather than happiness. And the greatest irony of all is that the rich do not even enjoy what they do. They needlessly sacrifice their own present happiness in driving themselves so they can buy that illusion. Careful consideration beforehand would have brought the realisation that the sheer meanness required to amass a fortune would just as surely get passed down to very unhappy children. Those who wish to prove it for themselves are welcome to spend their whole lives trying to get the better of the flawed and unequal system of private ownership while working through the system. But what a waste of one’s possibilities.

As we begin to realise the ultimate emptiness of sheer material pursuits, we come to sense that it is better to find joy in giving to others than to live in fear that others are going to get ahead of us; better to discover peace of mind through coming to know the source of our being than to squander our lives foolishly on material accumulation. With such clarity of vision would go the responsibility of helping others who are still starving for money or who are caught in the web of materialism to recognise their delusions. But the starting point is for each of us to rid ourselves of our own illusions about wealth and so help to pave the way to peace through economic security for all.

If these realities regarding money and wealth were understood, people would not waste their lives simply accumulating wealth. Persons who realise these truths feel gratitude and find joy in giving money to others. Such persons strive to achieve a state of being happy and at ease through gaining in sights into the central and enduring values of life instead of foolishly wasting time on material pursuits.

Helping people develop this clarity of vision is extremely difficult, however. History is filled with examples of the folly of single-minded pursuit of wealth, but unless one has already attained some degree of insight, one is blind to such examples. But just what is “some degree of insight?” Here is where we are faced with what seems to be a paradox. For developing the clarity of vision and the insight to properly assess the role of material things in life requires leisure and a capacity for spiritual reflection, which seem to come only with the wealth and social status for which everyone is striving. But it is exactly at this point that we need to think more carefully. While developing this insight and understanding regarding material things appears difficult for common people, I believe that if people can be helped to acquire a truly social consciousness, the misconceptions they have held in regard to material things will become clear to them. It is on this heightened social consciousness that we must focus our attention, then, rather than on the insight arising from leisurely reflection which is available only to a limited few. It is precisely the development of this heightened social consciousness that is a primary responsibility of true education.

Happiness and Virtue

There is an old Japanese teaching that holds that good fortune does not drop out of the sky unexpectedly. Neither does it spring forth from the earth or suddenly visit us from afar. Good fortune comes by the workings of virtue and so is only another name for our original state of mind. True blessings come to those who humble themselves, apply their labours to the family good, and uphold the “Five Relationships”(1). Conversely, ill fortune does not just happen either. The calamities that are our undoing and steal away our very lives come about from inverting the natural order of the world through our own selfishness and inconsiderateness, our disloyalties, our impiety, marital quarrelling and sibling rivalry, and forsaking family duties. True curses befall those who lead cursed lives.

Whether or not one accepts this reasoning in its entirety, it must be admitted that there is some truth in it. The fullest experience of life does, indeed, come only when happiness and virtue coincide. The egocentric accumulation of wealth, as noted earlier, is a delusion, a delusion that, far from leading to happiness, leads rather to emptiness and disappointment. If our society condones and encourages virtuelessness and false values in the lives of its members, we must remake society so that happiness and virtue do coincide.

Such a revitalisation movement would deal with current problems of social inequality, for these are a part of the same disparity. It is a particularly grievous flaw of our present society that the possibility of unlimited private holdings encourages discrepancy between private and public good. The sad truth is, if anything, that the unequal distribution of wealth is growing steadily worse. This must be checked on the one hand with external constraints, by redefining governmental policy, and on the other hand with internal constraints, by convincing people of the ultimate valuelessness of private holdings in excess of what they actually need.

Happiness and Health

Finally, consideration of happiness as the purpose of education must take into account the relationship between happiness and health. Health is the physiological foundation of happiness. All too often this simple truth gets overlooked. Yet, of what good would be vast riches or noble status or even the most thorough scholarship if our body or our mind is not sound enough to enjoy it? Health is the first condition and the symbol of well-being.

Happiness, then, depends on health, but health in turn depends upon positive activity. Individual energies are often wasted by aimless living, apathy, or unconstructive activities. By the time people reach adulthood it is usually too late to change; patterns of behaviour are largely set. But children and youth can be shown how to channel their energies into constructive activities. They may be directed toward a life of value creation. This is, after all, the reason we have education.

(Extracted from Education for Creative Living: Ideas and Proposals of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, pp.22-28)

(1) The Confucian Five Relationships were the loyalty of minister to lord, the piety of son to father, the fidelity of husband and wife, the respect of youth for age, and the mutual trust of friends.