Chapter Two – part 1: This chapter is entitled “The Science of Happiness”. Lucas begins the chapter by defining what psychology is and the fact that a lot of people do not believe that it is a “real” science. He then equates Math as a science we think is real but since the number pi is not a real number we really do not know what the circumference of a circle is. His point is that if we can accept that circles are real, and math is a science, then psychology is also real. It is not a very strong argument for psychology; I think he needs some help from lawyers on how to present a convincing case.

The next section deals with his point that happiness is an objective. It is at the basis for most societies, he calls it “The Happiness Principle.” He points out that the U.S. Declaration of Independence guarantees us “the pursuit of happiness.”  In 1999 the country of Bhutan adopted a gross national happiness index for their country to measure happiness. Lucas is giving examples that society assumes that all humans want to be happy, although there are subjective differences in how we attain it or exactly what will end up making us truly happy. We are promised these answers in chapter 3.

Most people believe that they are happier that others according to several studies he cites. He calls this the “I’m Happy – You’re Not” paradox which he says is a form of the self serving bias. This is the assumption that most people take internal credit for the good things that happen to them and blame external factors outside their control for the bad things. The other basis for this belief he states is social comparison. We look at others less fortunate in life and feel better because we have more than they have.