Re: While the subject of numerous studies and self-help books, a
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13 Apr 2019, 05:35
We can just about fully ignore the first part of the sentence. The word in the blank is described immediately after: "that one can experience only momentarily." And this also contrasts with the opposite interpretation of happiness as "a fixed state of being." So the blank should be something having to do with being momentary and not fixed.
"Transient" is absolutely perfect, meaning only lasting for a short period of time. "Ephemeral" completes the pair, also meaning lasting a very short time.
The other words, "coincidental," "inherited," "incessant," and "intrinsic" don't capture the idea of time. The debate here is whether happiness lasts a short time, or lasts a long time. Those words don't address that debate. "Incessant" does have to do with time, but it doesn't have a matching word and is the opposite of the meaning we want.