After taking intro to philosophy and having long, deep discussions, I've come to notice something and maybe you have too. We live in a very utilitarianism society, and what that means is that the best route is increasing happiness.

"Do what makes you happy."

"YOLO"

"Happiness is the key to success."

"Be yourself."

Our society has been quickly building into this philosophy that anything is okay if it makes you happy. What's wrong with being happy? That brings up a great point. If we do seem to believe that it's okay to do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy, then why can't a sadistic psychopath kill people, drown kittens, play a sick little game with your emotions? Why are these considered bad things? I mean, Oxford Dictionary states that a sadistic person "derive[s] pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others." A sadistic person derives happiness and pleasure from making others suffer. That's his or her form of happiness. Doesn't the sadistic have a right to happiness?

I mean, if we've given everyone the right to pursue happiness, who's to say the sadistic has a certain limitation on his or her happiness. What if he can't be happy unless he kills people? Who are we to deny him that happiness?

Of course, if everyone was allowed to hurt people or animals, there would be mass pain, which doesn't make people happy. This makes the sadistic's quest for happiness a little tricky because if it's okay for him to kill, then it's okay for everyone to kill, then we're all dead and unhappy, so his original quest for happiness by killing people doesn't make sense. This is all because universalism, a philosophic theory by Kant. For something to be morally good, it has be universal. This is why we can't kill people and the sadistic is unhappy. Even though you can twist that right around and say that no one should have the right to happiness if the sadistic can't have that right, but that's much deeper discussion.

Stepping away from the universalism, let's talk about that last part: morals. Let's say getting straight As would make you happy, but you can barely pass math. Cheating on the student next to you's test would get you straight As, which would make you happy, so that's okay then, right? I mean, it doesn't even hurt the other person like the sadistic's pursuit of happiness would. Both kids will get As. Both will be happy. What's wrong with that? Well, one deserved that A and one didn't. One lied and one didn't. One worked hard and one didn't. They're both happy, so why is everyone against cheating?

And what about cheating in marriages or relationships? Why is that so bad if it's really just someone pursuing their own happiness? Is that person's pursuit of happiness wrong? What makes someone's pursuit of happiness right or wrong? Who's to even answer that question?

If you're a spiritual person, perhaps your religion dictates right and wrong for you. That belief determines your morals. There's nothing wrong in that, even I am that way, but not everyone believes in the same thing or even anything at all. If morals were based on spirituality and beliefs, then everyone has their own morals and if everyone has their own morals, they have their own ways to get happiness that are right and wrong. Some people will believe in sex before marriage but someone different of a different belief system would find that morally wrong. But what if sex before marriage makes that person happiness? Then their happiness is wrong? What if waiting till marriage makes that person happy?

I think there are about a billion questions on happiness and how we achieve it and if it's really even a good idea. Happiness seems to be person relative but so are morals. Some people have this or that way to be happy and others have other ways. Some go against others' morals making that pursuit of happiness wrong. Where is the line? I like to think that there is a basic line that we all understand and accept and then there are separate lines determined by you, your beliefs and your upbringing.

I think that universal basic line of wrong and right is being pushed. I don't know yet if that is good or bad, but the acceptance of some morals being hurt so others are happy is a weird problem we've created. And how will we ever solve it? I mean, if happiness and morals are all person relative, then no matter what our moral line is, someone will be unhappy. The thing our society needs, in my opinion, is to accept that. Accept that you can't make everyone happy and that's okay.

If you have any thoughts on the pursuit of happiness, morals vs. happiness, or how our society has grown closer to this question, leave a comment! I'd love to see what you have to say.