(August 15, 2015 at 11:47 am)abaris Wrote:(August 15, 2015 at 11:44 am)Neimenovic Wrote: Also.....Are you suggesting that one can choose to believe....and that we should because it will make us feel fuzzy?
Don't let him off the hook by turning this into a different direction. He's being assertive where the study authors speak about a possibility. The only assertivness they offer is the fact that humans don't feel so good if they're not socially active [emphasis added]. Well, that's hardly news.
The research points to the opposite of what you have just said
I will quote the text since you failed to do so:
Quote:Researchers looked at four areas: 1) volunteering or working with a charity; 2) taking educational courses; 3) participating in religious organizations; 4) participating in a political or community organization. Of the four, participating in a religious organization was the only social activity associated with sustained happiness, researchers found.
So, four "socially active" endeavors were studied; the specific TYPE of social activity that brought about sustained happiness was participation in a religious organization.
Other people who were ALSO "socially active" in different ways did not experience the same degree of happiness over an extended period of time.
