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Comment by nck4222 | Hacker News Reader

Maybe I'm missing the point of the article but...

"A minimalist lifestyle does not make you a better person. But it may make you happier."

I would argue that if you're a happier person, you are a better person. So if a minimalist lifestyle makes you happier, a minimalist lifestyle makes you better.

Seems like an odd article to me.

EDIT: Seems like I'm getting flack for about "what if the person is evil but happy, are they a better person?..."

Apologies for not explaining my argument well the first time. The author argues that being minimalist makes him happier, less worrisome, less irritable, and have less liabilities, but not a better person. If being minimalist makes you all those things, then I think it does make you a better person than if you weren't minimalist.

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I think the author meant better in the sense of morally superior, not happy.

And I would argue that an unhappy person is much more likely to be immoral. I know that it's at least true for me.

I would argue that if you're a happier person, you are a better person.

I'm sure there are plenty of perfectly happy assholes out there.

I would argue that they are better than unhappy assholes.

As a corollary, the happier the assholes are, the better person/more agreeable they would be, and I have found that statement to be true.

I would argue that they are better than unhappy assholes.

What if doing hurtful things makes them happy?

That doesn't say anything about whether making them happy in other ways reduces their assholishness. It might do. (Perhaps they have a certain happiness setpoint, and if they're not made happy enough by other things then they'll achieve it by being assholes.) Or it might not. (Perhaps they associate happiness with assholishness, and an increase in either provokes an increase in the other.)

Ok, what if being an asshole makes one happy? ;)

This sounds highly implausible from what I know of happiness. Being an asshole helps them cope? Sure. Makes them happy? No.

It seems like you're conflating disparate things. Being curious can lead to being educated, can lead to a good job, can lead to more money, can... but being curious does not equal more money. Keeping cause and effect straight is a "happy" thing.

Also, all happiness may equal better but not all minimalism equals happiness.

And, most of all, being happy does not mean you are a better person. What if hurting kittens makes you happy?

"Also, all happiness may equal better but not all minimalism equals happiness."

I agree

"And, most of all, being happy does not mean you are a better person. What if hurting kittens makes you happy?"

Well you're right, but extreme outliers about kitten hurting aside... If something makes you happier, less worrisome, less irritable, and have less liabilities, (like the author is saying being minimalist does for him), then yes he's a better person than if he wasn't minimalist.

Ok, leave sociopaths aside: Arguing makes some people happy. ;)

I agree. I thought that the article's points contradicted each other and that it reads like a hastily-written lecture against the minimalism fad, whatever that is.

I assume the author was targeting the average person in regards to the "better person" comment, in which case a happier person does make a better person. Their confidence is improved, and thus they tend to be nicer to others. No need for an evil clause.

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