Feeling of Happiness in Self-Assessments of Ukrainians

Abstract

Happiness shows as an important sociological category. Starting from Aristotle, happiness has traditionally been conceptualized in European reflection as the main goal of human life, as a result of human development (eudaimonic interpretation). At the same time, a simplified understanding of happiness as a subjective complex of sensations (hedonistic interpretation) has formed in the history of sociology. The article focuses on the relevance of the issue of happiness as a subject of sociological research. The concept of happiness has been interpreted as a particularly significant, key indicator that combines the subjective and objective characteristics of the humanˊs life-world as an integral part of society. Modern empirical techniques that allow us to reach a new level of understanding the role of happiness in human life are evaluated by us. The article contains the results of a secondary analysis of the sociological dimensions of happiness carried out in Ukraine in recent years, including in the context of the study of values and value orientations. According to research results, the negative events taking place in Ukraine in recent years did not directly affect on self-assessments of a feeling of happiness. This can be explained by the lack of formation of the “concept of happiness” among Ukrainians (Y. Golovakha), as well as the prevalence of family values in the general hierarchy of values. The results of a questionnaire conducted at the Department of Sociology of the Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University in May 2018 have been published and analyzed. According to our data, the vast majority of residents of the three centers of the Black Sea region (Mykolaiv, Odessa, Kherson) consider themselves happy people. At the same time, the feeling of happiness among the residents of the region is due to a greater extent to personal factors and is not directly related to the well-being of society. This can be regarded as a dangerous trend, one of the symptoms of the growing atomization of society.