Happiness is a virtue, not its reward. - Baruch Spinoza

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how it might be attained.

Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. Happiness in this sense was used to translate the Greek Eudaimonia, and is still used in virtue ethics.

Virtue - moral excellence; goodness; righteousness; a good or admirable quality or property. A virtue is a positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being.