Dr. Arthur Brooks argues that evolution wired us for survival and reproduction, not happiness. Our animal impulses conflict with higher moral aspirations. Recognizing these impulses while pursuing greater goals, informed by personal research and faith, is how we find true happiness.
Mother Nature doesn't care if we're happy at all. You know, I believe God wants us to be happy, but our evolved nature, our animal impulse, doesn't care. On the contrary, if we follow our animal impulses, everybody thinks that if they do what they want, then they'll be happy. And that's just completely wrong. The day that you stop being at war with yourself is the day that you give up and become unhappier. And it's just abundantly clear that Mother Nature has only two goals for Jared and Arthur and everybody else, which is survive and pass on your genes, which are not highly dignified goals. And so that space, that's the animal impulse space. And on top of that is the moral aspiration space. And so to the extent that you acknowledge you respect your animal impulses and then you aspire to something that's much greater than that, that's the secret to actually getting happier. And it took a whole lot of research for me to come to terms with the fact that the things that I want are not the things that I need. They just aren't.
