Q&A: The Value of Joy
The Value of Joy
Question
One more question that’s hard for me: is there value in joy? I think that in your column about Hasidism you wrote that there isn’t, and that leads to my next question: why is there value in making another person happy if joy itself has no meaning?
Answer
Is there value in your having comfortable finances? But there is value in giving money to people. As people say: this world of your fellow is your World to Come.
Discussion on Answer
Having money is not a value but an asset. It is good for a person to have money. The same is true: it is good for a person to be happy. That has no value (in the evaluative sense), but it is an asset.
Do you think my claim is on the factual level—that it isn’t good for a person to be happy, or that he doesn’t enjoy being happy? I don’t understand this bizarre discussion.
I didn’t understand. There’s a real problem here. If my friend is poor, then it’s good for him to have money so he can live a normal life; living a normal life is good as a means to many things of value. Giving my friend an excessive amount isn’t good for him, and therefore it wouldn’t be proper for me to give it to him. Making my friend happy is a good thing. That means I caused something good for him, which implies that joy is a good.