An essay by Michael Schermer in the March 2007 issue of the Scientific American (
PDF here), briefly notes several recent books on happiness research and emphasizes the point that assumptions about what constitutes happiness vary over time. Take sex:
"A century ago, an average man who had not had sex in three years might have felt proud of his health and forbearance, and a woman might have praised herself for the health and happiness benefits of ten years of abstinence."
They may change, but individuals' assumptions about what constitutes happiness are always true for them and to some uncertain but very significant degree.
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