The theory of happiness (or the model of the 4 hamburgers) is an attractive argument that combines the search for pleasure and the search for meaning. To be happy more often, it would be necessary to identify activities that bring immediate positive emotions and a probable benefit for the future. This is one of the most famous happiness teachers who tells us that!
In 2003, Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar was arguably the first teacher to offer a course in happiness to his students. Influenced by the work of researchers in positive psychology, such as Martin Seligman Where Daniel Gilbertthis Israeli psychologist explained that, like foreign languages, cooking or sewing, happiness can be learned.
In his bestseller happy (The learning of happinessone of my bedside books for years), it offered an attractive approach to different types of “happiness” possible. Based on four easy-to-understand archetypes, it has come to be known as the “hamburger theory.”
Happiness is not arriving at the top of the mountain, nor climbing the wall to reach the top, it is living the experience of climbing.
Tal Ben Shahar
For Ben-Shahar, permanent happiness is an illusion that inevitably leads to failure and disappointment. He thus recommends considering happiness, not as a goal to be achieved, but rather as a journey to be made throughout one’s life.
The 4 Archetypes of Happiness Theory
Ben Shahar proposes four archetypes that help us become aware of our behaviors in daily life when faced with the eternal question of happiness. According to his ability to harmonize pleasure and meaningeach of us mainly corresponds to one of these four profiles (even if we also have certain characteristics of the other three).
The four profiles described below are:
- The hedonists where immediate pleasure takes precedence over future benefits.
- The ” metro-work-sleep whose activities aim for future benefits but provide little pleasure.
- The nihilistswho find neither pleasure nor meaning in their way of life.
- The blessedwhich thrive in the present while preserving the future.
Seriously ask yourself: which of these four burgers are you going to eat?
The tasty but unhealthy burger: the hedonistic archetype
The first burger is certainly delicious, but it only contains toxic nutrients (bad fats, too much salt, added sugar in ketchup and bread, etc.). Thus, when we taste it, we appreciate it but we are very likely to regret it. The benefit is immediate but it masks future harm.
It is the gluttonous consumer who takes pleasure in devouring his burger, but who will one day suffer the consequences. L’hedonistic wants to enjoy the pleasures of the present moment without worrying about the harmful consequences of his actions.
The healthy but tasteless burger: the metro-work-sleep archetype
The second archetype of this theory of happiness is a vegetarian burger, tasteless, certainly composed of healthy ingredients but which do not bring no feeling of pleasure in terms of taste. Eating such a sandwich is almost a chore!
It is the “metro-work-sleep” consumer, in a hurry and cautious, who carefully avoids making the wrong choices to avoid unfortunate consequences in the future. Suddenly, he is ready to sacrifice himself by renouncing any immediate satisfaction.
Worst Burger: The Nihilistic Archetype
As we are starving, we set our sights on the first fast food to come. We order a burger that not only has no taste but also turns out to be bad for your health. We have it all wrong!
It’s the depressed consumer who no longer has interest or motivation who accepts immediate harm and future negative consequences. In terms of pleasure and satisfaction, he lowered his arms and he no longer believes in it. This is level zero in this theory of happiness.
The ideal burger: the archetype of happiness
The fourth and final burger is both delicious and perfectly balance nutritionally. It is a gastronomic and dietary marvel, the ideal experience that combines immediate pleasure and benefit for the future.
Often, happy people have learned to combine the positive emotions that they can live in the present to a fulfilling lifestyle over the long term.
Based on this ideal burger, the happiness theory of Ben-Shahar illustrates the desirable marriage between Epicureanism (in the modern sense) and the eudaemonism of Greek thinkers. Pleasure and the search for meaning are therefore not necessarily incompatible!
