Critique on Article The Ends of Happiness Essay Example for Free

Critique on Article The Ends of Happiness EssayDr Karl Giberson is a professor at easterly Nazarene College with a PHD in Physics from Rice University. A man approaching his fifties at the writing of this article, Gibersons solution to his mid-life crisis was to write an article The Ends of Happiness. His article was well written and he tries to impart his experiences with happiness to young adults. In the article, Giberson claims that happiness should be the end result of our efforts and he provides a compelling argument why we should not get caught up in our pursuit of happiness finished buttoned-down gains. However, his arguments to back his thesis are inadequate due to an inherent contradiction in his livelihood point and one unproven assumption in his article.Giberson (2006) uses the Candy Experiment with children to prove his point that our capacity to withhold satisfaction leads to a life time of happiness (para. 5). He further explains that unpleasant actor can yiel d satisfying ends (2006). This implies that our happiness will increase if we are able to set divagation the things that make us happy, and work towards our goal. However, in his later argument, the author seems to imply that the happiest moments in his life, were times when he did not work towards materialistic gains.For instance, he claims he lived well, when he left work previous(predicate) and spent his time with his family (Giberson, 2006, para.12, 13 14). This illustrates his point that the most memorable moments in life comes from relationships as opposed to material gains (Giberson, 2006). While the latter argument tins his thesis, the former contradicts it by implying that happiness is something to be achieved through materialistic gains. This is shown in Gibersons example about a student graduating with greater earning power (2006) and how this ability is the convention for a lifetime of happiness (Giberson, 2006, para. 5).Furthermore, Gibersons argument seems to be contingent on one major assumption. That happiness gained from acquiring things, is less meaningful than happiness gained from spending time with family and friends. To illustrate his point, he cites indicate from his own memories. He states that memories gained from family time are clearer than the memories of buying his first car and cashing his first paycheck (Giberson, 2006, para.14). Giberson consequently applies this line of reasoning to back his thesis by showing us how happiness from material gains altogether reduces our overall happiness as our social interactions decrease (Giberson, 2006). However, such opinionated evidence provides weak support to his thesis and even though he did not plan on writing a scientific article, using personal memories to well-groundedate such a major assumption weakens his argument substantially.In conclusion, Giberson has so written a well-structured editorial with many coherent and interesting points. However, contradicting arguments an d one unsupported assumption in the article has undermined his thesis and weakened his argument. Gibersons thesis would have fared much better had he quoted from valid sources instead of his own personal experiences.ReferenceGiberson, K. (2006, Mar. Apr.). The Ends Of Happiness. Science Spirit, 17, 6-7.