ABSTRACT
Understanding human happiness is a worthwhile endeavor. Many philosophers first, recently followed by a great deal of psychologists, and some economists, among many others, have put forth a lot of effort just to get some answers. For instance, the concept of Eudaimonia was fostered by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago, and even now, it has become a renewed matter of research, having been extensively investigated during the last twenty years. Although the concept of happiness itself and its measurement remains controversial, considerable progress has been achieved in search of common ground. The work is not finished yet, but now we have some theories and a number of empirically based conclusions that deserve to be spread. Thus, we will review and synthetize the accumulated knowledge about human happiness in a balanced way, trying not to miss any relevant source: genes/biology, temperament, socioeconomic factors, culture, personality and attitudes, life events, and life ingredients will be discussed as part of the equation. At the same time, we will reflect on lay theories of happiness. Sometimes they are right, but often they are wrong. Finally, we will close the chapter with some notes and advices about how to disseminate this information to the wider public, having in mind that happiness is probably one of the most complex phenomenon of human experience.
