A More Reliable And Meaningful Aim Than Happiness

We are always and simultaneously at point “a” (which is less desirable than it could be), moving towards point “b” (which we deem better, in accordance with our explicit and implicit values).

The tragedy is that we already had a grown-up definition of happiness, 2000 years before Bentham started fiddling with his slipstick. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle warned against identifying the good with pleasure—which he described as a slavish life, suitable only for beasts. The ancient Greek conception of happiness from which Book I takes

chief desire of man is not pleasure but meaning. In fact, in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl argued convincingly that man was actually most tempted to distract himself with pleasure when his life was void of meaning.

He believed that to lead a happy and considered life, we should seek to use our intellect in a way that allows us to rise above our instincts and this pertinacious Will. A considered life is one in which we aspire to aims other than the procreation and fame that the Will amply encourages, avoiding the swing from pain to boredom…

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