Measure happiness – a contribution to Stanislaw Lem’s definition of happiness. Part 2: Limits of approach

Abstract

In the fable Kobyszczę, Stanisław Lem proposes a definition of Happiness that allows for the formulation of a mathematical model describing the intensity level of Happiness, which can be experienced by humans in different situations. Completing, correcting, and contextualization of the existing model are the main issues addressed in this article. The proposed mathematical model is not about the same Happiness experienced by different individuals. It is about the measure of intensity level of Happiness, which is experienced by an individual in many situations. That is why the proposed model describes Happiness in a new area of research located in digital humanities, where AI can be used to continue future work. The issue related to model reflects on the possibility of translating complex issues, e.g. philosophical ones, into the language of science specifically mathematics. The definitional procedure and the contextualization of the issues of good and evil and Happiness proposed by Lem in the fable Kobyszczę flow from his conception of the art of writing as the art of translating literary, philosophical, or theological issues into the language of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, or computer science, thus contributing to the trend of considerations in the field of digital humanities and developing by use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Consequently, an analysis of the narrative structure of the fairytale will identify the limits of applying this kind of approach to the question of translatability. Issues linking Kobyszczę to some of the matters being discussed in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) will also be identified.