Ideas from 'The Conquest of Happiness' by Bertrand Russell [1930], by Theme Structure

[found in 'The Conquest of Happiness' by Russell,Bertrand [Unwin 1961,-]].

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22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 2. Happiness / d. Routes to happiness
A happy and joyous life must largely be a quiet life
                        Full Idea: A happy life must to a great extent be a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live.
                        From: Bertrand Russell (The Conquest of Happiness [1930], 4)
                        A reaction: Most people's image of happiness is absorption in an interesting task, or relaxing in good company. The idea that happiness is wild excitement exists, but is a minority view.
23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 4. Boredom
Boredom always involves not being fully occupied
                        Full Idea: It is one of the essentials of boredom that one's faculties must not be fully occupied.
                        From: Bertrand Russell (The Conquest of Happiness [1930], 4)
                        A reaction: He gives running for your life as an example of non-boredom. I suspect that this is only the sort of boredom that troubled Russell, and not the sort of profound boredom that led the actor George Sanders to suicide (according to his last note).
Life is now more interesting, but boredom is more frightening
                        Full Idea: We are less bored than our ancestors were, but we are more afraid of boredom
                        From: Bertrand Russell (The Conquest of Happiness [1930], 4)
                        A reaction: I get the impression that the invention of the powerful mobile phone has largely banished boredom from human life, except when you are obliged to switch it off. The fear of boredom may hence be even greater now.
Happiness involves enduring boredom, and the young should be taught this
                        Full Idea: A certain power of enduring boredom is essential to a happy life, and is one of the things that ought to be taught to the young.
                        From: Bertrand Russell (The Conquest of Happiness [1930], 4)
                        A reaction: As an example he suggests that Wordsworth would never have written 'The Prelude' is he had never been bored when young. Which suggests that Russell doesn't really get boredom, seeing it merely as a stimulus to work.
Boredom is an increasingly strong motivating power
                        Full Idea: Boredom has been, I believe, one of the great motive powers throughout the historical epoch, and is so at the present day more than ever.
                        From: Bertrand Russell (The Conquest of Happiness [1930], 4)
                        A reaction: Most of his essay tells us how to avoid boredom, rather than how it motivates.