Happiness in Farabi's approach as a positive psychology concept

Happiness is a multidimensional concept that denotes human well-being and has been defined from various perspectives. In the classical period, happiness was associated with living a virtuous life and attaining one's ultimate end, whereas in the modern period, particularly with the rise of positive psychology, it has been approached primarily in terms of psychological well-being, individual satisfaction, and sustainable life satisfaction. This study examines the concept of happiness comparatively through al-Fārābī's understanding of happiness centered on ethics, intellect, and ultimate purpose, and the psychological well-being–based approach of contemporary positive psychology. In this research, happiness is not considered merely as subjective pleasure or emotional satisfaction; rather, it is evaluated as a holistic state of well-being achieved through the attainment of intellectual perfection, the continuity of virtuous actions, and the pursuit of a life in accordance with one's existential purpose. The study demonstrates that positive psychology generally conceptualizes happiness within the framework of individual well-being, life satisfaction, psychological resilience, and meaning-making, whereas al-Fārābī associates happiness with the perfection of both theoretical and practical intellect, the internalization of moral virtues, and the ultimate orientation toward true happiness. In this context, the transient and measurable conception of happiness emphasized in positive psychology largely corresponds to al-Fārābī's notion of conjectural (apparent) happiness. According to the main findings of the study, happiness in al-Fārābī is not merely a state of well-being confined to this world; rather, it is a continuous process encompassing the intellectual, moral, and metaphysical dimensions of the human being, ultimately directed toward otherworldly perfection. Although certain points of convergence can be identified between positive psychology's search for lasting happiness and al-Fārābī's conception of true happiness, al-Fārābī's association of happiness with a transcendent end constitutes a fundamental point of divergence from modern psychological approaches.