Dustin Wells Post 1 - Bertrand Russell:Fixing Things

When we look around our world Russell says that we can see unhappiness everywhere. So many people go about their lives in a zombie like state. They are going through the motions. There are times of boredom that we all face. We push away our boredom because we fear it and want to be happy. Our society does this by playing games, meeting with friends, watching movies or drinking alcohol. We try to do fun things and enjoy ourselves. We try to become happier. Russell suggests there is a cure for regular day-to-day unhappiness.

It is Russell’s belief that unhappiness is largely due to mistaken ethics, habits, or views of the world, leading to the destruction of happiness. An example Russell gives is of a man who disapproves of himself. He has an image of the way he thinks he ought to be. Having this image is crippling to him. He is absorbed in the consciousness of sin. He has a list of what he thinks are sins. Swearing, drinking, ordinary business shrewdness, and sex are all part of his list. He does not abstain from these activities, but he feels as if doing them is degrading. This degradation ultimately makes him unhappy. Russell suggests liberation from early beliefs such as ridiculous ethics codes are the first step towards happiness. The list above is comical. Except for ordinary business shrewdness I would say that swearing, drinking and sex are fine.

Russell says Narcissists are the opposite. They see themselves as wonderful. There is no hatred of the self or a big list of these “sins”. Instead there is just self adulation. They want the world to see them for who they think they are, wonderful in every way. The true narcissist cares so much for himself that there is no satisfaction gathered from companionship or love. In a relationship with a narcissist, the narcissist loves himself more than his partner. In the long run the narcissist cannot be happy unless there is a change. They must remove their vanity. If this vanity is not removed then everyone the narcissist knows will start to fade away. All activities will begin to lack pleasure, and then comes the boredom and unhappy times. Russell says that the cure for unhappiness brought on by narcissism is self respect and success inspired by outward interests.