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I don’t know who the “We” is, who is being spoken of in the above assertion. And whether or not “readily establish its power” best describes the process involved in the noblest, most modest and genuine exertions at striving towards the achievement of happiness (whatever that is, needless to say) is certainly debatable. And of course we “readily” (in the sense of “wilfully” and “eagerly”) strive towards happiness if we are so inclined and able. No, there is no sure- fire way to such an end. But what is else is there other than the will that could possibly lead us to the possibility of power over our mental states, the regulations of our moods and the contentment which can only be arrived at as the result of our will to make personal decisions. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5866 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5866 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:09:46 EDT Bhagwad Gita - "What did you lose that you cry about? What did you bring with you, which you think you have lost? What did you produce, which you think got destroyed? You did not bring anything - whatever you have, you received from here. Whatever you have given, you have given only here. Whatever you took, you took from God. Whatever you gave, you gave to him. You came empty handed, you will leave empty handed. What is yours today, belonged to someone else yesterday, and will belong to someone else the day after tomorrow. You are mistakenly enjoying the thought that this is yours. It is this false happiness that is the cause of your sorrows." http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5639 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5639 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:34:21 EDT "Today, we’re all aware of the excesses that resulted from this system, since the financial meltdown in the United States was the direct consequence of too many people living on credit, to the point of borrowing hundreds of times the real value of their possessions". Umm . . . credit is extended on the basis of wealth and ability to pay, in the form of the present value of future income. Few have been extended credit that involves "hundreds of times" of their wealth, let alone current income. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5540 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5540 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:59:35 EDT I feel dumber for having read this. Usually I like to have more substantive criticism, but there is no substance here to criticize. Bruckner is encouraged to worry less about what people think of him. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5537 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5537 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:14:31 EDT the logical way to this situation perhaps maybe to just strive to lead a life dedicated to a cause (maybe for a beloved one, or for work, or for pleasure...anything worthwhile) but, without, expecting the results of our actions. If one is made to be constantly aware of each and every moment of one's life and how it can be made more perfect, one is bound to feel irritated. Too much self appraisal is detremental. The issue here is to keep doing things that one has faith in. Getting results and expectations is a different issue and the cause of suffering also. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5521 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5521 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:20:37 EDT Fabulous article! He has nailed the phenomenon with wit, insight and intelligence. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5506 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5506 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:57:56 EDT Es una reflexion interesante. Pero hemos llegado a donde estamos por el conjunto de acciones elaboradas por mentes en su mayoria perversas, que en aras de ostentar los diferentes`poderes fueron elaborando esas acciones hasta hacernos luchadores incansables contra una vida miserable ¿los grilletes atavicos son sin cerradura ni candado? http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5493 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5493 Sat, 26 Mar 2011 06:39:28 EDT One wonders how this corresponds to the cult of grinning, now de rigueur in photo portraits. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5466 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5466 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:02:33 EDT Thank you. Brilliant and so true. Albeit I don't think I believe I feel bad about being unhappy but being unhappy in itself is bad enough. Sometimes I think we need unhappiness to put happiness in perspective. As for regulating diets, aging, physical well-being, we can't be stingent and moderate and chaste all the time as the hedonistic aspects of life are some of the most memorable and, within these moments, one can learn as well. We can't control the inevitable that is old age and death. We are all constantly learning and we learn not just by abstaining, abiding, following rules. Good article - The Publisher www.sasareport.com http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5462 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5462 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:15:36 EDT I reckon that the problem derives from equating happiness with fun. Hedonism precludes any lasting happiness and cannot reach joy. The pleasure it provides lasts as long as the particular activity lasts, and the memory affords a little pleasure, but mostly creates a desire for more, as an addiction. I regard happiness as something that can and ought to exist regardless of circumstances. Fun may add enjoyment, and trials may increase sadness, but underneath a wellspring of joy can be built, so that neither prison nor fame and fortune can ruin it. No doubt none of this is news, however it might be to some. The 'duty to be happy' is something that causes a lot of problems within my religion, because we believe "Adam fell that man might be, and man is that he might have joy." So for a Mormon to be unhappy means something is wrong. This comes from a misunderstanding, however. One of the goals of the LDS church is 'perfection of the Saints.' Some take this to mean that it's possible to actually achieve perfection, which is utterly false. The ultimate goal is perfection, and the process is continual improvement, by way of intermediary goals. We should learn line upon line, precept upon precept, even as Jesus Himself. The point of mentioning all this is that it forms a sort of bridge between the old world you describe and the new. Part of the reason for the new mania for happiness is a diminution of pains other than those you describe, for example, I have a mother, two sisters, a sister-in-law, two nephews and three nieces that are all alive only because of modern medicine. Not 50 years ago all of them would now be dead. It used to be so common for children to die that there are many examples in history and literature of parents not wanting to attach themselves too much to their little ones until they were at least five years old. Yet there were and have always been people who could be happy despite circumstances. That's the ideal of the Stoic school of philosophy, after all. If there could be a duty to be happy, it ought to be along those lines, to learn and grow into happiness, so that even terrible circumstances do not end in ruin. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5444 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5444 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:37:00 EDT He had me until cigarettes. They are exactly what the writer first said of the debt crisis: being sold by the tobacco industry that one "must have" today's happiness with little regard to the mounting debt being accrued by the body. "What is needed is a renewed humility," says the writer. Yes, and does not that not start with acknowledging the very real limitations of this machine called the body? http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5442 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5442 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 05:02:50 EDT True wisdom is joy and this article has condemned me to that joy. Thanks. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5441 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5441 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:29:58 EDT I think happiness is an state of mind that shows up anytime someone has the ability to appreciate and give thanks for... regardless of their current situation. I personally don't think people is unhappy cuz their are not happy but because the lack of their ability to be grateful. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5438 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5438 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:56:01 EDT Also try 'The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy' by Michael Foley. He's an Irishman, and who better to be an authority on happiness and suffering? (except perhaps Ukrainians, Poles, South African Blacks, Jews, Palestinians...) ? DA http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5435 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5435 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:23:13 EDT A long-winded, if accurate, anti-panegyric against mindless feel-goodism in America. Who is Mr. Bruckner trying to be: Bernard-Henri Lévy? Perhaps something was lost in Ms. Cornel's translation. The American liberal writer Barbara Ehrenreich addressed the subject better in 'Brightsided'. But whatever makes you happy. ;-) DA http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5434 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5434 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:02:23 EDT Yes �" we live in a prophylactic society and anyone not following the status quo is considered a dinosaur or simply an outcast of a lower intelligence. Happiness when dictated as a necessary permanent condition, which is what the media constantly espouses, however doesn’t really define; decimates the unique cliques of the human condition. The lack of quality, humanistic education and critical thinking on a secondary level has also significantly contributed to the blinding, numbing effects of the frivolity of our age. Deep thinking, sustained reading, reflective discussions, sense of historical perspective, poetry are slowly being eroded away by pragmatic thinking, ordered lifestyle and the pursuit of wealth. Medicine, once an independent bastion of knowledge is also contaminated by pharmaceutical conglomerates convincing people that their tepid sadness for an event, life’s injustices, moments of natural grief need to be treated. Suffering of any kind, whether it is mental or physical, needs immediate treatment as if it were unnatural for man/woman to suffer. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5427 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5427 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:11:08 EDT Happiness is always relative term.Most people want approval from others for their happiness. Most people appreciate to those who are successful and every one think success is only cariteria of happiness.I think when you fulfill your motive you do some creative work and complete it at that moment you enjoy pure joy and get self-satisfaction that is real happiness. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5426 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5426 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:23:11 EDT Dangerous oversimplifications. One only needs to do a routine round of blogs on the internet or on Facebook to know that the expression of sorrows is in a very healthy state. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5425 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5425 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:17:32 EDT Bruckner describes one thread of pre-enlightenment Christianity perhaps, but not the only one. Certainly earthly pleasures are dim compared to those of beatitude, but they are real and good nonetheless because they come to us from God. The desire for a decent life seems to him suspect as well, and prayer seems to him the only recourse against pain (did aspirin really make prayer obsolete?) Health, food, fitness, etc really are good; I think it is better to look at how we have made them ultimate goods instead of as being subordinate to our end (and desire!) to be loved by and to love God and others. They are not the problem themselves; rather the problem is that we often imagine that we have no shot at happiness (=salvation) without them. Ignatius, after he learned from his excessive penances, did not council disdain for earthly pleasures and "fulfillments," but rather "indifference," by which he meant that we are not desolate if they are taken from us; that in the face of losses of earthly pleasures our true joy and treasure remains untouched. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5423 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5423 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:43:12 EDT Thank you, Bruckner and Cornel. This summary of how we arrived at our present way of thinking of happiness is interesting, and it's useful for seeing how arbitrary (considered from the point of view of an individual born into such a time) are our ways of thinking about happiness. Freedom. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5417 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5417 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:53:56 EDT Thank you for providing the quality and variety of content. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5416 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5416 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 08:24:21 EDT Also, to show my American excess, I have one more comment after reviewing comments, and other articles. Might as well throw it out there. Happiness can be found in suffering, as I do everyday when I go to my gym. The pursuit of a journey seems to be a primary theme in humanity. We have ended our journey to satisfy basic needs, so we need other outlets for this barbaric pattern of survivalistic behavior. I know many, myself included, that are happy working excessively excessively. When arguing and debating. Gossip. The absence of money when Ive overspent it. Eating and exercising in obsession, occasionally. These ffluctuations in life make it worthwhile, I'd think.. Negativity seems to be the opposite of positivity, but is it? Maybe negative is positive as much as positive is negative. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5415 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5415 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 06:31:01 EDT Okay, the problem was clearly addressed in the article, though the solution was stated as Westerners needing "renewed humility". A description of what renewed humility is stated, and As I finish the hasty conclusion to the article, I am left thinking "....And?" What would the active state of renewed humility in the West look like? How can we start to change our hard pressed Western habits to support this intriguing perspective of renewed humility? Are there any role models that show the behaviors that renewed humility look like? I consider myself humble, but everyone is biased by their own life's viewpoint. We need just as many examples and analysis of what this humility appears to be as Mr. Bruckner provides for what the problems Western gluttony has. As it is, this article shows that problem academia encounters constantly, a stated abstraction that does not show physical application of the abstraction. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5414 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5414 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 05:59:34 EDT Happiness may not be a near-permanent condition, however, I think contentment can be. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5412 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5412 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 04:15:05 EDT I am happy that I no longer need worry about not being happy enough!That's a joy enough never to be overriden! http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5409 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5409 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:16:03 EDT Wonderful piece of analysis and writing. If only all French philosophers wrote like Pascal Bruckner. ;) http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5408 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5408 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:07:07 EDT Well written article - however may I point out the difference between "joy" and "fun" ? There is a vast difference between the two and American society is overly preoccupied with "having fun". Here are some very real scenarios that a person cannot have fun but still experience joy. - Have a serious illness and have joy. - Be in prison and have joy. There are many more... But I think you get the idea. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5406 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5406 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:26:29 EDT When I was 20, I could go to the gym and lift weights six days a week. Now I am 40 and can only lift weights 3 days a week, and while I rationally know, heck I'm forty, emotionally I feel like I'm being lazy. And speaking as a writer, I think the media is also to blame for telling us about all these new talents that came out of nowhere, without reminding us that most of them worked alone, unnoticed, for years before being discovered. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5405 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5405 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:39:59 EDT A well written article, but a couple comments are necessary. First, the notion of "happiness" as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is quite likely strongly informed by the Greek notion of eudaimonia (human flourishing) that was very different from the self-indulgent pursuit of happiness chastised by the author. Second, Protestantism and its various offshoots have had a strong hand in promoting this more facile notion of happiness, from interpretations of Calvinism to Mary Baker Eddy and "prosperity gospel" adherents. As the author is French, and I only assume more influenced by Catholic notions of Christianity, this is an understandable oversight. Oh, and Frank Capra bears some of the blame as well. But to reiterate, an otherwise good article. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5400 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5400 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 07:06:14 EDT This article made me unhappy. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5398 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5398 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:37:08 EDT In pre-modern times the the French and English nobility have always sought happiness -- just look at the pleasures of the hunt, food and clothing of the Plantagenet and Tudor kings, dukes, and earls -- even if a consciousness of the fleeting transitoriness of life and the fickleness of fortune tempered enjoyment with Christian second thoughts at the end. Elizabeth Jenkins's book, The Princes of the Tower, gives a good description of this aspect of the privileged few. Or Otto Trevelyan's life of Fox. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5396 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5396 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:54:07 EDT Ahh, French paradox and wit! A pleasure in itself with no signs of guilt. And very well done. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5395 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5395 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:41:12 EDT Bravo, Alexis Cornel! For me, happiness occurs spontaneously - around a dinner table with family and friends, enjoying unmeasured portions of food and wine, fine conversation and a sense of belonging. There is a different kind of happiness to be found in solitude and reflection, and even melancholy. The endless quest for perfect pecs, a flat stomach and an unlined face has created a strange tribe of shiny, sculpted people of indeterminate age, who are incapable of showing their emotions or relishing a slab of full, fat unpasteurized cheese. Instead of enjoying the rich pleasures of the written word, they are sweating it out in the gym for hours every day. Even people with terminal cancer are forced to endure the awful terminology inflicted on them by the purveyors positive thinking - they are survivors, not victims - which trivializes their fears and discourages them from seeking solace and understanding. Thank you so much for writing this marvellous article. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5394 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5394 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:03:45 EDT How to be happy: Happiness is a phantom invented by the mind. Chasing the phantom causes restlessness. Best not to have the idea in the first place, then you can get down to some serious entertainment like watching seagulls. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5393 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5393 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 02:44:59 EDT Enlightening. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5392 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5392 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 02:44:11 EDT Staying up late trying to figure it all out ? Here is a pertinent but relatively lengthy article you might find to be of interest ? --- cheers ---Dad --- http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5391 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5391 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:14:00 EDT Beautifully written and argued. Much better to do one's duty to society and oneself than to pursue happiness http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5390 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5390 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:40:05 EDT I loved this. What is identified and analysed here is, in part, an attribute of the ideological separating of individual and society, the former (aka consumer) constructed as autonomous agent of (personal) destiny, the latter as being disconnected. Surely the 'healthy' person has 'silent', invisible body and feeling and is wholly (healthily) in full, dare one say joyous, interaction with others, awhile accepting human realism; it is the 'sick soul' that is self-absorbed, consuming its own body, withdrawn from interaction and politics, and engaged in the 'mirthless' pursuit of the gaudiest parodies of health and happiness. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5389 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5389 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:42:09 EDT Thank-you, Mr. Bruckner. You are wise. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders as I read this. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5388 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5388 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:31:59 EDT The article makes me unhappy because i just cannot find a fault with it. Extremely well written. Kudos. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5387 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5387 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:22:05 EDT There seems to be no real attempt to define happiness. Is it merely the absence of unhappiness or is it something more positive like joy? One can be happy (or perhaps content) with the mentioned well functioning body but not satisfied with one's general state or social order or the general misery in the world. Like a good deal of philosophical mental wandering the area is to vaguely explored as to be even mildly interesting. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5386 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5386 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:27:40 EDT good http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5365 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5365 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:14:16 EDT There is a difference between the happiness of things and happiness that comes from God - the person who puts God first is free to live life while the person who puts things first is captured by them. That's why Jesus said "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." That is where true happiness is found. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5318 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5318 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:14:24 EDT Es ven veritat. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5271 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5271 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:46:16 EST well done, my compliments to the author, and translator http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5256 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5256 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:53:25 EST A jewelled Rolex would support a community of a dozen of Mother Teresa's nuns for a year, with some left for the unfortunate souls the tend to.We are a seriously disordered nation, increasingly tightening our perimiter of concerns for others beyond our sight. There is a hurting world just over the horizon, beyond the gated communities, the beach houses, the summer homes. How and when the recokoning will come is not a matter for discussion in polite company. Yes, let them eat cake, but it may well be yours. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5252 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5252 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:23:52 EST Prosperity does that to people everywhere. It's not an exclusively "Western" phenomenon. Many in the Chinese middle class now try talk therapy. Ennui is rampant throughout the upper middle class in India and elsewhere. To classify this as a "Western cult" is to demean the whole idea of satiation, of what happens to people after their basic physical wants and needs are satisfied, and they start to look both inward and outward asking what else there is. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5229 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5229 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:24:08 EST "all this runs up against our finitude." I don't want to run up against finitude because one of my greatest joys is eating properly-prepared flounder. But I can't help thinking that the author, in decrying Voltaire, is playing the part of the anchorite in another Frenchman's literary effort. I think he also completely missed Voltaire's signal contribution to the cause of human fulfillment (as opposed to "happiness") which was expressed (by another philosopher) as "work in your own garden." http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5201 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5201 Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:50:29 EST This is a most satisfying translation. Was the original French as good as the English translation? Wow. Already forwarded to select family. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5195 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5195 Sat, 05 Mar 2011 07:54:50 EST Our conscious minds are conditioned to seek pleasure and avoid pain. When we get what we want we experience pleasure. When we don't get what we want or when what was attained eventually goes away we experience pain. The mistake is not understanding how this neuro-conditioning works and thinking that the mind states it produces (happiness, sadness, etc) are "real" things. Like everything else they come and go. You can't avoid the vicissitudes of life but you don't have to consciously react to them. I don't know if this qualifies as "happiness" but it brings peace to the mind. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5162 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5162 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:20:14 EST Condemned to pleasure would've been a much more accurate title. Real joy is almost extinct today. No one said it better than Auden: Faces along the bar Cling to their average day: The lights must never go out, The music must always play, All the conventions conspire To make this fort assume The furniture of home; Lest we should see where we are, Lost in a haunted wood, Children afraid of the night Who have never been happy or good. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5161 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5161 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:15:43 EST And thank God that times have changed! http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5159 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5159 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:48:34 EST Well, once they suffered from not being happy and now we suffer from knowing we are not as happy as we should be, which means we still suffer from not being happy. We look forward always to a better future, which rather dims the present. So things are pretty much the same after all? http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5154 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5154 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:36:33 EST excellent essay. I riffed on it here: "The Pursuit of Happiness http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2011/03/pursuit-of-happiness.html http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5152 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5152 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:23:09 EST happiness, félicité - qu'est ce que ça veut dire? Ça n'existe pas. C'est un fantôme. Glück, chance, bonheur = luck - that's all it is, perhaps. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5150 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5150 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:36:17 EST I thoroughly enjoyed this,and sent it out to numerous people.One person told me it was too long to read and wasn't interested.I haven't heard back from anyone else. I guess they are all too happy to care. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5147 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5147 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:46:20 EST Happiness is one of those qualities which, if pursued for themselves, will continue to elude us. Happiness is an extra, a result of other qualities. Those, for example, who are generous are generally happy. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5142 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5142 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:15:44 EST Reading this article made me happy. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5141 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5141 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 06:35:39 EST Mr. Bruckner reminds us of what used to be. I leave it to more eloquent people than I to continue his reminders, save for this point: Happiness is a by-product of goals achieved. No goals and no accomplishments means no happiness. Contentment, satiation, ecstatic pleasure perhaps, but no happiness. Setting and working to achieve worthy goals ought bring fleeting (but frequent) happiness, while having no goals at all, save the satisfaction of physical desire, means of life of meaningless ennui. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5140 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5140 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:30:03 EST When all else fails, focus on your navel. And hum. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5137 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5137 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:42:23 EST Well Mr. 'Mountain' since you are clearly condemned to joylessness, I suggest you take your superior intellect to Huffpo, or better yet Swampfever Underground. What's my 'source' you ask? Why, your name is on the list of newly received patients at the lunatic assylum. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5132 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5132 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:52:28 EST Oh, please. Just enjoy your life. Guilt free. What else should we do? http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5128 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5128 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:34:25 EST As someone who spent ten years employed in the health and fitness industry, I could not agree more with Mr. Bruckner assessment of our culture's obsession with happiness. Rather than teaching our children that happiness is a lucky by-product of a moral life; sweet, but temporal, we train our children to pursue happiness as an end in and of itself. No wonder our culture crumbles. Abuse of credit, drugs, sex and food are the result of a people who demand a shortcut to happiness. Instant pleasure trounces delayed gratification every time. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5127 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5127 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:31:36 EST A truly great and timely piece. For over 20 years now I have learned to be myself, both sad and happy and to be accepting of both. I am human, I err. I adhere to a daily spiritual practice. I believe in a power greater than myself, I also accept that I can nothing alone. Daily I surrender my will. It's not easy, as the writer states, to live a life of balance and yet, it is possible. Once more I am back to saving before buying. A simple, productive and meaningful life is my practice. No more, no less. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5126 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5126 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:02:21 EST What rot. Lately I regret that I purchased a gift subscription to City Journal for a friend. So many writers on city-journal.org now seem to be wannabe Dalrymples. Suppose you get an editor who suggests that people first graduate from high school and then publish--and try proving one little thing, as well as cite a source now and then. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5124 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5124 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:01:02 EST I can't relate to everything said in this article, but I get a sense that it explains some things. In America I've noticed that people try to "bob" from one happy experience to another, to be on a perpetual high, and they become very distraught and/or angry if they see anyone try to take that experience away from them to, say, pay attention to something important that's happening in their midst. I've never understood this, since while I was growing up I was taught to be honest with myself about what was happening inside me and around me. So I've experienced sadness and despair, and happiness. It also helps explain the societal development I've seen of people being concerned with being "green" and scared about global warming, promoting a societal guilt about our very existence, and the various penances for it. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5123 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5123 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:54:25 EST Well, this all does sound . . . French. http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5121 http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=6796#5121 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:18:21 EST