Happiness perception in the context of the meaning of human life

The study is aimed at philosophical interpretation of the state of happiness in the context of the meaning of human life. We have analyzed the current situation of “happiness deficit”, which is associated with the phenomenon of “existential vacuum” that has developed against the background of consumer attitudes of a market-oriented society. In such a society, happiness is extremely simplified, reduced to the satisfaction of primary needs, and human life becomes meaningless. As a result, happiness becomes superficial and primitive. The article reveals the difficulties of determining the phenomenon of happiness, which are associated with its ambiguity, correlation with reality and subjectivity. We specify the historical approaches to happiness perception, which were formed in antiquity (hedonism, stoicism, and eudemonism) and further developed. The historical analysis shows that at varying times happiness was understood in different ways in dependence on the conditions of social life. To achieve the entire and sustainable happiness a person needs certain social conditions that will stimulate him to increase his culture and creative activity. This is possible in a society where production is oriented to human development, and consumption serves only as a prerequisite for such development. The sources of true happiness include the creative activity of a person, labour, love of another person, work commitment, act of consciousness that is everything that makes happiness a spin-off from the realization of higher human needs. However, happiness is associated not only with the realization of spiritual needs, but also with their exaltation, i.e. the emergence of spiritual needs of higher levels. We have concluded that in the interests of gaining happiness, a person should work on the exaltation of his needs through the development of a creative attitude to social reality. The results of the study can be applied in educational work, training of specialists in the field of philosophy and other humanities.