Unhappiness as a research problem

From Booth, Colomb, and Williams, The Craft of Research.  "A practical problem is caused by some condition in the world (from spam to losing money in Omaha to terrorism) that makes us unhappy because it costs us time, respect, security, pain, even our lives.  We solve a practical problem by doing something (or by encouraging others to do something) that eliminates the cause of the problem or at least ameliorates its costs."  (4.1.2)

First, I admit that I was a bit surprised to find happiness, or rather unhappiness, offered as the signal that one has found a problem that might be addressed by some sort of research.  More often potential researchers are advised to find topics that interest them.  Of course these authors, in this chapter, are moving potential researchers from topics to questions to problems, so it may well be that "what interests" you is fine for identifying a topic, but inadequate for questions and problems.

Second, this use of the term unhappiness suggests that the state of unhappiness is a reaction to something being wrong or a symptom that something is wrong that needs to be addressed.  The solution, the condition that restores happiness, might be more time, respect, security, elimination of pain, etc.  If so, then perhaps it follows that the pursuit of happiness might be better understood as an effort to get things in their proper, even righteous order.   The humming of a well lubricated engine is a sound of happiness despite the fact that the engine is inanimate and thus unable to experience emotion.  An advantage of this angle is that it seems to eliminate the possibility of happiness being achieved in isolation.