Teleology

"I mean, if that explanation actually makes you feel happier, then fine."

"Feeling happier isn't what explanations are for. Explanations are for predicting our observations.

"Emotions, too, are functional: happiness measures whether things in your life are going well or going poorly, but does not constitute things going well, much as a high reading on a thermometer measures heat as 'temperature' without itself being heat.

"If the explanation that predicts your observations makes you unhappy, then the explanation—and the unhappiness—are functioning as designed."