Happiness: A History

The proliferation of new books about "Happiness" (many of the "how to" category) and the numerous reviews of what has been written in the past about its "pursuit", may just show that either we do not know, or have failed to achieve that supposedly ultimate goal of human existence. The thouroughly documented and elegantly written "History of Happiness" by Darrin McMahon is not one of the crowd. It is brilliantly written and a pleasure to read, even by those who "don't care" (aren't there any?) about happiness and/or the literature concerning it. Starting with the meaning of the word (related to happening, haphazard and perhaps)we go through ancient philosophers, religious leaders, medieval scholars, to end up with modern democracies and the promises of the "false prophets", political innovators and dictatorial demagogues. Prof. McMahon is not only a spectacularly well-informed academic but an inspiring and brilliant light on a subject that - well - is truly everyone's concern.

This was the best book I've read in the last year. It imparts information in a manner which is comprehensible and complete without using esoteric philosophical jargon. It is very accesible for the ordinary reader while covering complex subjects.

Happiness: A History is a beautiful book for people who enjoy reading. It is not a self-help manual, so if you are looking for one simple message or point, then this is not your book. Instead, McMahon offers a great many insights, showing how and why earthly happiness began to replace otherwordly salvation in the eighteenth century, and why happiness has since become our modern God. McMahon tells this story by beginning with the ancient Greeks and then moving forward to the present. Along the way he gives the reader a short course in the history of Western Civilization by looking at what great writers and artists and philosophers had to say on the subject of happiness, and pointing out things like the relationship between happiness and luck and why the pursuit of happiness can often be counter-productive. The writing is clear, and the book as a whole is insightful, often poignant and funny. It can be challenging in places, but it repays the effort, and then some. I loved it.

One basic reason for reading a book about 'The History of Happiness' is to understand what exactly it is that will make us happy. In other words we might read the book as a kind of how- to- do-it book but one in which we have to figure out the 'principles ' of how to do it by ourselves. I think it is natural and obvious to most people in our world and time that this subject, our own personal happiness, is one of great importance and one we certainly should be most concerned with. But one of the first findings of this study is that our attitude about happiness which comes so natural to us is not an 'eternal given' is not the way most people felt most of the time throughout history. They were worried more about other things, like surviving, like getting enough food to do it. As McMahon sees it the modern conception of individual pursuit of happiness began with the Enlightentment in the 17th and 18th centuries. So the Declaration of Independence declares that it is our right to "pursue life, liberty and happiness." This contrasts sharply with the view of the ancient Greeks and Romans who said " that no man can be considered happy until after death'i.e. It is the whole story of a person's life which determines whether they are 'happy ' or 'not'. In contrast I think of many expressions in the Jewish tradition beginning with Biblical ones in which 'happiness' is connected with 'sitting in the house of the Lord' or with 'trusting in God' and certainly with 'walking in the way of God." I think that is how in the Jewish religious conception the idea of happiness is bound up with doing our duty to others. And that the idea then of pursuing a private happiness apart from others would seem to make little sense. Here I think of the dictum taught me in my childhood by my grandmother ( The good which we put into the life of others, comes back into our own)In other words happiness is less an individual achievement than it is a way of relating to others. Considering this kind of focus on the ethical life as the way to happiness, I see that McMahon in focusing on 'individual happiness'from the Enlightentment is also most likely connecting the concept of Happiness' development with an increasing secularization, an individualization. Nonetheless in one section of the work he is cautionary in regard to the focus placed on drug- induced happiness. He seems to side with Leon Kass' dictum that medical treatments are advisable for special sufferings, but that we should not be seeking to eliminate the ups and downs of everyday life. I would also point out that while most of us tend to absolutize the good of happiness in relation to ourselves, it is clear that happiness, and certainly pleasure are not in and of themselves always good. For after all there are 'evil people' who take pleasure in making others unhappy. This brings me back to the basic ethical idea that perhaps the greatest happiness we can have is in making others happy, or sharing that happiness with oth

I just finished reading Happiness: A History. This was a very interesting read, and a very informative one. In summary, McMahon takes us on a philosophical review of happiness, starting with Socrates, and taking us up to modern times. Along the way, we read the opinions of such notable figures as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Napolean, Locke, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, Adam Smith, Hume, Mill, Weber, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud...to name a few. I particularly liked the last part of the book, with McMahon pointing out the relevance of Huxley's Brave New World in our own world today. We are a culture that feels happiness is our right, and the search for it extends to recent advances in pharmacology. In reading this book you will learn about all the various theories and definitions of "happiness," and how each era dealt with it differently. This book is very well researched and presented. I do have to tell you, Happiness: A History, can be pretty depressing, and there are many parts of the book that are downright bleak. (In an existential kind of way, at least for me.) Still, highly recommended for those interested in the subject, and for anyone who wants to get a good overview of philosophy through the ages.