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taw comments on My main problem with utilitarianism - Less Wrong
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It's true that my critique would be a lot weaker if Easterlin paradox turned out to be false, but neither me nor Easterlin are anywhere close to being convinced about that. It would surprise me greatly (in <1% chance sense) if it turned out to be so.
1 is obviously predicted by the hedonic treadmill, so it's not surprising. And as far as I know there's very little evidence for 2 and 3 - there might be some tiny effect, but if it was strong then either everybody today would feel ecstatic all the time, or our ancestors 200 years ago would all feel suicidal all the time, neither of which is the case.
The research I linked claims to be evidence for 2 and 3. I'd say it's not irrefutable evidence but it's more than 'very little'. Do you take issue with specific aspects of the research?
There seems to be a certain amount of politics tied up in happiness research. Some people prefer to believe that improved material wealth has no correlation with happiness because it fits better with their political views, others prefer to believe that improved material wealth correlates strongly with happiness. I find the evidence that there is a correlation persuasive, but I am aware that I may be biased to view the evidence favourably because it is more convenient if it is true in the context of my world view.