Critique on Article “The Ends of Happiness” Essay

Dr Karl Giberson is a prof at Eastern Nazarene College with a PHD in Physics from Rice University. A man feeler his fifties at the authorship of this article, Gibersons solution to his mid- bread and butter crisis was to write an article The Ends of Happiness. His article was thoroughly written and he tries to impart his experiences with felicitousness to young adults. In the article, Giberson claims that happiness should be the end result of our efforts and he provides a compelling bloodline why we should not get caught up in our inquisition of happiness through materialistic gains. However, his arguments to back his thesis are inadequate due to an inherent contradiction in terms in his supporting point and one un auditionn assumption in his article.Giberson (2006) uses the Candy Experiment with children to prove his point that our ability to withhold satisfaction leads to a life time of happiness (para. 5). He get on explains that unpleasant means can yield satisfying ends ( 2006). This implies that our happiness will increase if we are sufficient to set aside the things that make us happy, and work towards our goal. However, in his later argument, the author seems to imply that the happiest moments in his life, were times when he did not work towards materialistic gains.For instance, he claims he lived well, when he left hand work early and spent his time with his family (Giberson, 2006, para.12, 13 & 14). This decks his point that the most memorable moments in life comes from relationships as opposed to material gains (Giberson, 2006). While the latter argument supports his thesis, the former contradicts it by implying that happiness is something to be achieved through materialistic gains. This is shown in Gibersons example about a student graduating with greater earning situation (2006) and how this ability is the formula for a lifetime of happiness (Giberson, 2006, para. 5).Furthermore, Gibersons argument seems to be contingent on one major assu mption. That happiness gained from acquiring things, is less meaningful than happiness gained from spending time with family and friends. To illustrate his point, he cites grounds from his own memories. He states that memories gained from family time are clearer than the memories of buying his for the first time car and cashing his first paycheck (Giberson, 2006, para.14). Giberson then applies this line of reasoning to back his thesis by showing us how happiness from material gains alone reduces our overall happiness as our social interactions decrease (Giberson, 2006). However, such opinionated evidence provides weak support to his thesis and even though he did not plan on writing a scientific article, using personal memories to validate such a major assumption weakens his argument substantially.In conclusion, Giberson has indeed written a well-structured editorial with many coherent and interesting points. However, contradicting arguments and one groundless assumption in the a rticle has undermined his thesis and weakened his argument. Gibersons thesis would have fared much reform had he quoted from valid sources instead of his own personal experiences.ReferenceGiberson, K. (2006, Mar. Apr.). The Ends Of Happiness. Science & Spirit, 17, 6-7.