The search for well-being 寻找幸福

In preparing to write a longer story, I have recently been reading psychology books on the meaning of happiness. Although my father was a psychologist, I had never previously paid much attention to the field.

为了写一篇长篇报道，我最近一直在读有关幸福含义的心理学书籍。虽说我父亲曾是一名心理学家，我之前却从未对这方面有过多关注。

I’ve come to analyze many things from the point of view of my nearly year-old dog Feifei. From the first day I got her, I’ve taken her almost every morning to the local park, where she plays with dog friends and is petted by people. She gets mopey and sad if she misses even a day. Feifei thinks everybody is her friend—person, dog, or cat.

我开始从我快满一岁的狗狗菲菲（音译）来分析幸福。从第一天养她开始，我几乎每天早晨都带她到公园，让她和其他的宠物狗伙伴们一起玩耍。如果我没带她去玩，她这一天都会伤心到没精打采。菲菲觉得无论公园里的人、狗还是猫，都是她的朋友。

If a dog growls at Feifei, she just wags her tail. Usually the barking dog walks off in confusion. I’m not sure if the Feifei school of international relations would work, but it would be a welcome change from the so-called realists, who argue that every nation, everywhere and at all times is seeking dominance over others.

如果有狗狗朝着菲菲低吼，她只会摇摇尾巴。一般别的狗都会带着不解走开了。我不确定菲菲式“国际关系思想”是否有用，但那些所谓的现实主义者都应改变自己的观点，不该认为所有国家，无论何时何地都在寻求主导他国的地位。

One key book on how to achieve a happy and meaningful life is Martin Seligman’s Flourish. Although the book does ramble a bit too much, it does a good job of explaining the scientific approach to studying happiness, which is called positive psychology. Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who is considered the father of the field, argues that to be fulfilled and have a feeling of well-being a person needs PERMA—positive emotions, engagement, good relationships, meaning, and achievement.

马丁·塞利格曼所著的《茁壮成长》是一本探讨如何过上幸福且有意义的生活的书，虽然该书有些内容稍有重复，但书中详细解释了研究幸福感的科学方法，这种方法叫做积极心理学。宾夕法尼亚大学的心理学教授塞利格曼（Seligman）被视为积极心理学之父，他认为一个人想要获得满足感与幸福感需要具备PERMA五个要素：积极的情绪，参与感，良好的（人际）关系，人生的意义以及成就。

Feifei is made happy by the R in PERMA—good relationships. Surely, the elderly dancers, singers, and exercisers I see in Chinese parks are also made a lot happier by their daily relationships.

菲菲因为具备了五个要素中的良好关系而感到幸福。当然，我认为那些在中国各个公园里唱歌、跳舞、锻炼身体的老年人也拥有良好的日常人际关系而感到快乐许多。

The other psychologist who impressed me is Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist—that is, a therapist—who teaches at the University of Toronto. His new book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, has been number one on Amazon for weeks, even though it is a very difficult book that discusses the core philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Socrates, and the Bible in depth.

使我深受影响的心理学家还有临床心理学家乔丹·彼得森（Jordan Peterson），他是一位临床心理学家，也在多伦多大学授课。他的新书《生活的十二条法则：混乱的解药》连续数周位列亚马逊图书榜榜首。阅读该书有一定难度，因其深刻讨论了弗里德里希·威廉·尼采，卡尔·古斯塔夫·荣格，苏格拉底以及《圣经》的主要观点。

Peterson is certainly not a positive psychologist. He would sternly warn Feifei that everyone is not her friend.

彼得森诚然算不上是一位积极派心理学家。他可能会严厉告诫菲菲，她不能和任何狗狗做朋友。

Much of his professional research concentrates on what Hannah Arendt, the great scholar of the Nazi Holocaust, called the “banality of evil.” Peterson studied the killers at Columbine High School as well as the Nazis and other perpetrators of mass horrors.

他的专业研究大部分集中在研究纳粹大屠杀的著名学者汉娜·阿伦特提出的“平庸之恶”。彼得森对美国科罗拉多州杰佛逊郡科伦拜中学的枪击者和制造大规模恐怖事件的纳粹与其他犯罪分子进行了研究。

He also concentrates on giving tough-love advice to the sad young men who hide in their parents’ basements playing video games instead of pursuing the opportunities of life. The Japanese have so many of these perpetual children that they have a special word for them, hikikomori. But, it’s a big problem in the US and China, too. Peterson also speaks out against the coddling, self-centeredness, whininess and anti-intellectual spirit that dominates many US and Canadian colleges today.

他还将重点放在了严厉忠告那些放弃把握人生机遇，躲在父母家中地下室里打电子游戏的失落青年。在日本，这类青年人数众多，有一个专门的词描述这些长不大的孩子：蛰居族。但在美国与中国同样存在此类问题。彼得森还严辞抨击了当前在笼罩众多美国和加拿大院校的娇生惯养，自私自利，怨天尤人和反智精神等学生负面情绪。

Maybe surprisingly, Peterson and the positive psychologists end up in much the place. They both emphasize that a human’s life cannot be full of well-being without meaning and achievement. Both say that taking responsibility for one’s family and one’s society are more important than material goods.

令人欣喜的是，彼得森和许多积极派心理学家可算是已在该领域取得了不俗成就。他们一致强调失去了人生意义与成就，也就谈不上幸福。他们都认为承担家庭与社会责任比享受物质满足更重要。

The psychologists I’ve been reading lately are thought-provoking. They made me think through life’s lessons. Although, sadly, it is too late to talk with him about them now, I’m going to go back and read Dad’s articles.

我近期在读的心理学家的书十分发人深省，引发我对人生教训的思考。虽然，现在才想到应该和父亲谈论这些心理学家有些为时晚矣，但我已经决定要回头好好读一读父亲的文章了。