Happy versus Right

Puzzle #1 A number of wise people have observed that, given the choice between being happy and being right, most people will choose being right. Why is this to be expected?

(this was an assignment in my graduate level Advanced Systems class, and my answer is below)

P: Humans are {organisms}.
(an assembly of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life.)

P: Organisms have {performance boundaries}.
(temperature, weight loads)

P: The {environment surrounding an organism} presents space that offers conditions within and without the organism's performance boundaries.
(molten rock, alpine meadow, climate controlled hotel room, international space station sleeping quarters, sauna)

P: Environments within the organism's performance boundaries are synonymous with {safe}.
(environment: average tropical temperature, organism: humans)

P: Environments outside the organism's performance boundaries are synonymous with {unsafe}.
(environment: molten lava rock, organism: humans)

P: Humans have an {internal representation} of outside environment.
( propositional language )

P-1: When propositional language evaluates the environment surrounding an organism as within its performance boundaries and the actual environment is outside the organism's performance boundaries the propositional language statement itself is evaluated as false.

P-2: When propositional language evaluates the environment surrounding an organism as outside its performance boundaries and the actual environment is within the organism's performance boundaries the propositional language statement itself is evaluated as false.

P: P-1 statement on this page is synonymous with unsafe.

P: Unsafe propositional language and unsafe environment are not both physically immediate forms of unsafe.

P: Unsafe propositional language is safe if used and unsafe if implemented.

P: Humans have an internal representation of the caveats of language evaluation in which survival is associated with safe propositional statements.

P: Humans know that being right is an important safety concern with internal representation.

P: One could be happy and also not be using internal representation to find environments that are truly safe.

P: Happiness in the above case is associated with not surviving.

P: Being right is associated with surviving in the above case.