Name: The Wisdom of Life
Rating: 4.4 (231 reviews)
Author: Arthur Schopenhauer

What’s in it for me? Get a surprisingly modern perspective on what it takes to be happy.

The question of what happiness actually is has puzzled humankind since time immemorial. After all, it was one of the first issues that the early Greek philosophers turned to. They called it eudaimonia, a term that encompasses prosperity and good fortune as well as happiness.

The question troubled Arthur Schopenhauer, too, and in this essay he presents his own thoughts on the matter. He attempts both to define what happiness is and to ascertain how life should be lived so as to achieve it. According to him, that is the only way to gain the wisdom of life.

In addition to explaining how to build a foundation for happiness, these blinks also reveal

why you shouldn’t worry what others think;
just where pursuing fame will get you; and
how one Frenchman wanted to look on the day of his execution.

Life's blessings can be divided into three categories.

Ruminating on the qualities and nature of human life is nothing new. But after the rumination comes the practical part. How, exactly, are you supposed to live your life for maximum benefit and happiness?

Of course, the Greek philosophers got there first. Aristotle thought human blessings could be classified into three categories: blessings that are external to the self, blessings of the soul and blessings of the body.

Aristotle was on the right track. There are three categories of blessings, but they don’t align with his conception of them.

First and foremost, there's personality, or “what a man is.”

Personality isn’t just your character; it also covers your health, strength, beauty, temperament, moral outlook, intelligence and education.

These attributes are generally determined by nature, and as such they're very significant in governing human happiness.

Most importantly, a person’s inner constitution, or “what he is made of,” plays the biggest role in shaping his well-being. Just think of health: it’s axiomatic that a healthy beggar is happier than a sick prince.

Needless to say, for Schopenhauer, the greatest pleasures are those of the mind. As he puts it, “An intellectual man in complete solitude has excellent entertainment in his own thoughts and fancies, whilst no amount or diversity of social pleasure […] can ward off boredom from the dullard.”

The second category is property, or “what a man has.”

Material wealth can satisfy real and basic needs, but it won’t get you any further than that. It’s never going to truly satiate you or compensate for a lack of inner wealth. Happiness comes from elsewhere. That’s why rich people, though materially well off, aren’t particularly happy.

Finally, there’s position. In other words, how you're thought of by others.

An inwardly rich person, unlike a fool, will pay little heed to others’ opinions. She’ll just live her life.

That’s the basics covered. Now let’s look at each blessing in more detail.

Human happiness depends on physical health and the gifts and pleasures of the mind.

Let’s begin with the first of the three distinct categories that make up the blessings of life: personality. You’re always going to carry it with you, no matter where you go or what you do. Therefore, who you really are matters a great deal.

A critical part of personality is health and it accounts for nine tenths of happiness. If you’re healthy, you’re more likely to find pleasure in things. If you’re unhealthy, nothing is enjoyable.

Worrying about reputation is pointless, and impedes your path to happiness.

Position is the third category of life’s blessings. It’s all about how you appear to others. Let’s begin with its first aspect, reputation.

Generally speaking, we worry too much about other people’s estimation of us. We can’t seem to help it, though our concern is completely unnecessary.

The notion of honor stems from a primitive human characteristic.

We'd all like to imagine that we’re useful members of society. Indeed, if some impolite busybody marched up to you and said that you were useless, you’d probably feel that your honor was under attack.

There are two sides to honor: one is objective; the other, subjective.

Deserved true fame lasts an eternity, but it’s only a product of underlying personality.

Honor has a twin: fame. But, like the famous twins of Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux, who were immortal and mortal, respectively, fame and honor have utterly different relationships to time. Honor is ephemeral, a mere flash in the pan. Fame is undying and eternal.

The thing about true fame is that you have to work for it. Unlike honor, fame must be won.

Key ideas in The Wisdom of Life