The fuzzy definition of "happiness" is part of what I'm trying to point out. In one sense a person seeking "happiness" is a hedonist trying to maximize pleasure and enjoyment in life. In another sense "happiness" can be the contentment of having fulfilled a value, even though the process was not enjoyable.
I distinguish "happiness" from "pleasure". I see hedonism as relevant to pleasure, rather than to happiness.
When those who wrote the US Declaration of independence referred to "the pursuit of happiness", I have a hard time believing that they meant "the pursuit of pleasure."
Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity