The Conquest of Happiness
by Bertrand Russell
December 21, 2020 — Unknown
Los Angeles, CA
A gift from Hussein Hijazi
This book was my final read for 2020 and my 50th book, reaching my goal of reading 50 books a year, despite starting in late May. I’m glad that I’m ending the year with this book, which I highly recommend, it was very meaningful. The book’s title can be a turnoff because I’m not a fan of self-help books or books that promote (enforce) a specific mentality usually written by psychologists or gurus; however, was excited because it was written by Bertrand Russell, a polymath who's an excellent writer and uses philosophy, history, and science as the base of his reasoning and discussion.This book was written in 1930, so there may be a few controversial ideas or differences, however, the wisdom presented is timeless and much of his discussion can still be experienced today (he can be considered even ahead of his time as he introduces mental health, before the topic became a social media trend in 2017). What I appreciate the most is that Russell provides an analysis of society before providing a recommendation, rather than just throwing a “do this to be happy” list. Furthermore, he keeps it realistic, rather than idealistic.
The book is distinct, because it includes and actually starts off with the causes of unhappiness. Very interesting causes are mentioned such as competition, boredom and excitement, fatigue, envy, the sense of sin, persecution, and the fear of public opinion. I found these causes to be intriguing when he dives deeper into them and discusses everyday ideas, actions, and traits that are seen in all socio-economic levels within our society. It was so well written you can visualize it. What surprised me the most is that the traits he mentioned in 1930 of the causes of unhappiness and warns about, have increased significantly and a share of them have become a norm in everyday life and culture in the 21st century. One of them is the hunger for and desire to be deemed as “successful” that makes men compete, envy each other, and always riddle themselves with the public opinion. The chapter that stood out to me was the sense of sin, where he bashes the way we’re brought up with outdated ideas that limit ourselves.
He then discusses the causes of happiness, which are the zest for experiences in life, affection from people, family’s infleunce, work and it’s impact, having impersonal interests, and the balance and standoff between effort and resignation. The amount of detail and argument he get’s into each chapter and cause is spectacular. His approach is also respectable, where he discusses actions and/or ideas and provides specific comparative examples, then ties it all to how this leads to happiness.
After reading this, I’ve been looking at people differently and have been sending out excerpts to my friends who complain of their unhappiness, even though I think the book should be read as a whole. I too feeble happier being more aware of the causes of unhappiness which I’ve began thinking about in my life and figuring out a way to eradicate them, while investing more into the causes of my happiness.