> Happiness research is a great example of why psychology isn’t science. How exactly should "happiness" be defined? The meaning of that word differs from person to person and especially between cultures. What makes Americans happy doesn’t necessarily make Chinese people happy.
I would say that the specific cause may differ but the feeling does not. And even the differences in the causes are exaggerated. Sushi may make you happy. A cheeseburger makes me happy. In both cases, our favorite food makes us happy. Paris makes you happy. London makes me happy. In both cases, our favorite city makes us happy. Our parents fighting would make our childhoods unhappy, though the particular individuals who fight would differ. Interests shared with a mate, studies show, makes a marriage happier, though the particular interests may vary from couple to couple.
Yeah, it's hard to measure concretely. But even the most concrete sciences, like physics and astronomy are squishy, just ask quantum physicists. And I see revisions to biology in the news several times a year.
Just because you can't nail down every last fact, doesn't mean that you can't comb through the foam to extract and build a body of knowledge.