Yew-Kwang Ng & Siang Ng
Department of Economics
Monash University, Australia 3800
Email: kwang.ng@buseco.monash.edu.au
（经济学人.北京） Authors: Dr. Yew-Kwang Ng is a professor of economics at Monash University. He has published a dozen of books and over a hundred peer-reviewed articles in biology, economics, mathematics, philosophy, psychology and happiness study. He was invited to present the keynote paper on 慞reference and Happiness* at an international conference on 慐conomics and the Pursuit of Happiness* at Nuffield College, Oxford University in February 2000. Dr. Siang Ng is a lecturer in economics at Monash University.
Intended Readers: All who read English at an average level or above. While scholarly references are given at the end of the book to substantiate the claims made and for interested readers and experts, average readers may ignore them.
Synopsis: The book combines biology, economics, philosophy, and psychology to give simple insights on happiness. You may learn to increase your happiness by learning about the correlations between happiness and money, employment, age, religion, sex, married vs. single, separated, and divorced people, first vs. second marriages, and even democracy and freedom. It contains some outspoken and controversial suggestions, including,
A case for electrical stimulation of the brain for pleasure.
The recognition of differences between the sexes, especially regarding the preference for sexual variety.
A case for higher public spending, especially on education, research, and environmental protection.
Reading the book will help you to find out about:
Whether your happiness increases or decreases as you get older. Knowledge on this may save you life.
How important is having more money for happiness?
What are the important factors for happiness?
What are the simple things one can do to increase happiness?
Simple ways to avoid some fallacies in gambling.
Content
Preface
Chapter 1: Happiness: Everyone抯 Ultimate Objective? *
1.1 Happiness as the Ultimate objective
1.2 What is Happiness?
Chapter 2: Does Money Buy Happiness?
2.2 Why the Rat Race if Income Does Not Really Buy Happiness?
2.3 A Biological Explanation of Irrationality
Chapter 3 What are Important for Happiness?
3.1 Important Correlates of Happiness
Chapter 4 Private Consumption or Public Spending?
4.1 The Futility of Private Consumption
4.2 The Overestimation of the Costs of Public Spending
4.2.1 Overestimating the excess burden of taxation
4.2.2 Environmental effects, relative-income effects, and burden-free taxes
4.3 Welfare-Improving Public Spending
4.4 Concluding Remarks
Chapter 5 How to be Happier?
5.1 Realistic Expectation
5.2 A Purpose in Life
5.3 Pursuing Happiness and Helping Others in One抯 Job
5.4 Health, Family, and Friends
5.5 Understanding the Differences between the Sexes
5.6 Tips on Gambling and Consumption Choice
The fallacy of proportion
The fallacious 憀aw* of large numbers
The fallacy of a 憇ure-win* method in gambling
The fallacy of overestimating the chance of winning
5.7 Choices over Time
5.8 Have a Happier Personality
Chapter 6 Electrical brain Stimulation: Importance of public Spending in Research for Happiness
6.1 Misconceptions on the Costs of Public Spending
6.2 Direct Access to Intense Pleasure
6.3 Enormous Benefits
6.4 Safe and Long-Lasting Pleasure
Chapter 7 Policy Implications
7.1 Public Policies
7.2 International Cooperation
7.3 The Role of Individuals
References
EXCERPTS
On sexual differences
A male requires only minimal investment (courting and intercourse) to pass on his genes. Thus, if a man has sex with many different women, he has more chances of passing on his genes. A man who only likes to have sex with a single partner has far less chance of passing on his genes to many children. In time, through natural selection, non-variety-seeking genes were competed to extinction. Thus, men are universally born with a strong desire for sexual variety. Recognising this simple biological fact allows variety-seeking men to have less guilt feeling and their spouses or partners to feel less unloved on discovering the affairs. In our view, this simple point is so important to happiness that it should be taught to all high school students.
On the other hand, females require big parental investment (nine months of pregnancy plus many years of breast feeding and further care) to pass on their genes. A woman can increase the number of offspring not by promiscuous sex but by securing the parental investment of the male partner. Thus, *most women become sexually uninhibited primarily in the context of an established relationship*. Recognising this, *some sexually sophisticated men may learn that * despite the absence of the jolt novelty provides * intercourse with a trusting, familiar partner is potentially the most intense sexual experience possible* (Symons 1979, p.273). This is especially so if men also realize that the *desire for sexual variety dooms most human males to a lifetime of unfulfilled longing* (Symons 1979, p.228). The pursuit for a dream girl is a will-o*-the-wisp. In terms of the distinction between preference and happiness, while a man prefers variety, his happiness may be better served by having a lasting relationship with one partner. Though few men, even after realising this, can resist the inborn preference for variety completely, perhaps some may choose to locate the optimal trade-off point somewhat in favour of a lasting relationship. The institution of family is not just good for bringing up children and for women, but also extremely important for the happiness of men.
On electrical stimulation of the brain for pleasure
Stimulation of the pleasurable sites in the brain clearly produces positive reward as suggested by experiments in which rats were willing to cross a painful shock grid in order to obtain the stimulation, and as confirmed by human subjects. Moreover, the pleasure induced is so intense that rats prefer EBS to food and sex, and if not stopped by experimenters, will continuously seek stimulation until exhaustion. In humans, *patients who were having emotional or physical pain experienced such intense pleasure with stimulation that the pain was obliterated* (Heath, John & Fontana 1968, p.188).
Apart from relieving pain and inducing pleasure, brain stimulation may also be used as a 憄rimer* in improving well-being. For example, Heath (1964, p.236) reported, *strong pleasure [from brain stimulation] was associated with sexual feelings, and in most instances the patient experienced spontaneous orgasm * This patient, now married to her third husband, had never experienced orgasm before she received * stimulation to the brain, but since then has consistently achieved climax during sexual relations.* Once the right neurons have been excited, they become excitable more easily. The right neural pathways have been established.
