What is happiness? Is it the absence of tears, abundance of smiles, or love, love, love? Can happiness even be defined?

The main fault of those who try to define happiness is that they end up with a circular definition. Often, happiness is defined as a state in which a human being is content because the person has received something good. But what is that “something good?” The definition comes back full circle: it is something that makes the person happy.

To define happiness, one would need to describe it in terms of the way different societies, religions, or individuals have done. The concept of happiness began with the Greeks, who defined happiness as a life filled with reason and virtue – the so-called eudaimonia, or the state of being “well-souled.”

This definition of happiness, however, has veered away from defining the state of the person during one point in time, to a holistic approach that defines a person as a product of his or her past, and happiness as the product of many emotions and achievements. This is particularly prevalent in North America, where happiness is equated with the so-called “American Dream”: a successful, healthy family; more monetary wealth than can be calculated or known; beauty from the cradle to the coffin; and unflinching, unending wit and intelligence.

Not all families are successful – and the definition of success can vary from person to person, and culture to culture. Money cannot buy everything – and having too much of it can be the source of problems. Beauty, as the adage goes, is in the eye of the beholder. Wit and intelligence, moreover, can be, in some degrees, feeble, and in others, annoying.

So where is the happiness in all this? Is the American Dream really the embodiment of happiness?

More recent writers correlate authentic happiness with the marriage of positive emotions to positive activities. Positive emotions may arise because of something remembered in the past: contentment at having come so far, after so much work and effort; pride at having achieved so much after despairing; satisfaction; and serenity of spirit.

Positive emotions may also result from contentment and satisfaction in the present. Happiness coming from such emotions may be due to the satisfaction of bodily pleasures, such as enjoying the aroma and taste of food; the satisfaction of higher pleasures, such as watching an intellectually stimulating play; and gratifications, such as absorption in reading and study.

Last, positive emotions may also come from faith in the future. Happiness can arise from optimism and confidence, as well as hope and trust that tomorrow will come, and everything will set itself aright.

All these positives, however, still seem to speak in the abstract. After all, happiness is obviously the product of so many more things than personal gratification or awe; and one’s smile contains so many more emotions and faces than can be defined in a single moment. Besides, dogs like being patted and caressed, birds can sing and recognize each others’ tunes, and cats are actually smarter than they look. What sets our definition apart from those of animals?

With that in mind, do animals really feel happiness? According to experts, animals have little or none of the reasoning power of humans. What animals do have, however, are motivation and drive. For carnivores, this may be a successful hunt and fresh meat at the end of the day. For prey, this may be a successful hideout, and another escape from a hungry predator. For a dog with an itch, this may be a chance to scratch itself. That is, if an animal’s immediate needs are met, a goal is achieved, and an “animal happiness” ensues.

This, then, is what sets humans apart from animals: happiness in humans is not merely the achievement of goals, but the reveling and relishing of that achievement, and the optimism that comes with the reassurance that things can be better.

So, what is happiness?

Apparently, like most other emotions, what it is, and how you can achieve it, is up to you.