Chapter 10

Part two of Russel's book starts out with a question, much like the first, Is Happiness Still Possible? In the previous chapters, Russel has showed us what makes a person unhappy, but here he describes the different types of happiness and which groups of people they apply to. I disagree with his comparison of the two types of happiness. Limiting happiness to certain characteristics, such as only achieving a type of happiness due to the ability to read and write, seems to discredit the term. Surely people with lower mental functions can obtain a certain happiness and to say that because we are able to achieve a greater happiness because we are able to perform certain acts seems to demean those people. Our happiness is not greater because we are smarter or can do certain tasks. Obviously Russel believes the way of science is vastly superior to those who have other occupations, but by studying and analyzing everything could they not miss happiness? When comparing the artist to the man of science Russel states, "All conditions of happiness are realized in the life of the man of science." In my opinion, it seems as though he is saying that unless you are in an occupation that has outcomes that effect society as a whole, you cannot be TRULY happy. To be an artist means to not be as complex as the man of science, and thus unable to attain the same kind of happiness.

Factual Question: What did the young Chinese visitor expect when going to form his own school? (118)

Discussion: On Russel's theory of fads and hobbies, is there really a difference between those and Fundamental Happiness (121)