Mechanistic view of Happiness
According to the mechanistic view, a person’s happiness is objectively measurable.
Is also has a real physiological component related to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Its presence in the mesolimbic pathway is involved in desire and pleasure. Pleasure can be induced artificially with drugs, most likely with opiates and morphine. There are neural opioid systems that produce and release the brain’s own opioids. There are tests of the brain that can measure happiness.
In humans, goals are no longer short term satisfaction of basic drives. There still remains a strong relationship between goal fulfillment and happiness, even if the goals themselves are long term, complex, cerebral or less selfish than non-human goals. In fact, short term gratification, while briefly generating happiness, often requires a trade off with unhappiness or other negative repercussions in the long run. Certain types of philosophy believe that true happiness only exists if there are no long term detrimental effects.