The Conquest of Happiness
Written by Bertrand Russell
Narrated by Chris Lutkin
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
This metaphysical self-help classic instills happiness within and urges individuals to pursue a content life without sin, boredom, or contempt.
Written decades ago with post-war depression in mind, this text has transcended time and continues to give applicable advice for modern-day individuals.
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was born in Wales and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. His long career established him as one of the most influential philosophers, mathematicians, and social reformers of the twentieth century.
More audiobooks from Bertrand Russell
Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Conquest of Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Religion and Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Proposed Roads to Freedom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Conquest of Happiness
Related audiobooks
Aging and Renewal: Living the Full Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Included Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConnect yourself! (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing the Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter Breakup: Healing Ourselves and Rebuilding Our Lives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOvercoming Perfectionism Sleep Hypnosis Meditation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Power Of Reflection: Embrace Your Past To Find A Purpose For Your Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Spiritual Handbook for the Modern Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrieving Mindfully: A Compassionate and Spiritual Guide to Coping with Loss Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Depression & Metaphysics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuided Meditations for Anxiety and Panic Attacks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Ancient Path: Talks on Vipassana meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Effective Speaking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Peaceful Conversations to Soothe My Imperfect Heart: A Self-Paced Devotional Prayer Book for Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLadies: Take Control of Your Emotions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpirituality: A User's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMindfulness Exercises Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCreating Self-Esteem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBedtime Meditation Stories - The Forest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHappier You Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Letting Go: A Guide to Finding Freedom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Philosophy For You
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tao of Pooh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brain Training with the Buddha: A Modern Path to Insight Based on the Ancient Foundations of Mindfulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holographic Universe: The Revolutionary Theory of Reality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Communicating Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: The Laws of Human Nature: by Robert Greene: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The More of Less Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dao De Jing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/512 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson - Book Summary: An Antidote to Chaos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buddhist Boot Camp Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life Is a 4-Letter Word: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heretic's Handbook Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Conquest of Happiness
254 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Russell is one of my favorite philosophers. He's fairly chatty and casual here, and it's an interesting work, though not as rigorous as some of his other pieces. Short and to the point, this is a point-of-view that you hear echoes of here and there in modern "self-help" philosophy, and I agree with most of what he has to say. Still, it isn't Russell's best, or the best of this "genre" of philosophy. Good, but Russell sets high standards for himself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book to teach one how to appreciate what one has rather than what lacks.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the exception of a few outdated references regarding Russia and some scientific discoveries of his day, this book is as relevant now as it was when published in 1971--maybe even more so. Russell gives sound, practical and concise self-help style advice on ways to increase personal happiness without all the fuzzy-wuzzy psycho-babble you'd expect from a similarly titled book published today. Definitely recommend.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent advice on how to be happy and on how to avoid unhappiness.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'd never read any Bertrand Russell, so when I found this book in my boyfirends' stash and asked him what he thought and he said, "AMAZING!" I thought I would take it for a whirl. I was not disappointed. In this book, Russell tackles the problem every day unhappiness. I like the fact that he put a disclaimer on the scope of his work. He recognized healthily, that there are times in life when one should be unhappy such during a tragic loss or illness. However, Russell methodically, rationally describes causes of garden variety unhappiness among moderns humans. The chief of those causes, according to Russell, is a narcissistic preoccupation with one's self. I don't think Russell is referring here to the ability to self-reflect. I think he's talking about preoccupation with one's inner moods to the preclusion of external occupations. And I agree with him. Happiness is a mix of knowing one's self and maintaining a healthy interest in people and things external to one's own psyche. While I don't think necessarily that getting a hobby or studying is a cure all, I do believe that if one can find an interest that takes up some of the mental space spent on ruminating that one can, in effect, forget to be unhappy.Of course, Russell doesn't frame finding happiness as a formula. He spends several chapters highlighting causes of unhappiness and suggesting remedies. Of particular note is Russell's idea that we create much of our own unhappiness by adhering to strict, idealistic moral codes that are rooted in outdated assumptions. We fail to live up to unattainable standards and then compensate with inner thought flagellations that do little to improve our behavior. I love the idea of examining morals throughout one's life and even though it can be difficult to disentangle from dogmatic thinking, I believe Russell makes a good case for doing so.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In The Conquest of Happiness Bertrand Russell proves better at speculating about causes of unhappiness than at providing prescriptions to achieve the conquest (strange word) of happiness. Russell had one of those Victorian upbringings famous for under nourishing one’s instinctual well-being, and what happiness he achieved may have needed a triumphal psychology. But “cultivation” of happiness through decisions and actions better expresses what he’s after: Happiness is not a monolith out there you cause to tumble at your feet; you raise it within. Russell’s task is to diagnose how Victorian morality can impede pleasure and how any age’s commercialism potentially fatigues and diminishes the vital self. He then advises how not to be their victim.Interesting observations appear throughout but they aren’t enough, I think, to fulfill the promise made by the book’s title. It says something that the short epigraph from Whitman’s “Song of Myself” may be the most memorable thing here.* Next best is Russell’s argument that happiness is likeliest found when a person is not wholly preoccupied by his own self, while still taking care and time to discover his deepest impulses and allow an independent personality to flourish that’s consonant with them. It is for those puzzled by that prescription, and who are open to a rational man’s advice, that the book has its greatest value. Unfortunately, there is an excess of not well-supported pronouncements by the happy author, pronouncements which are true because . . . why? Because he has said them? This disinclination to substantiate disputable assertions ill befits a man aware of the virtues of weighing evidence and not just saying stuff. Let’s call his book My Claims about Happiness. After all, just saying stuff is a privilege restricted to book reviewers (e.g., me) and politicians and sports columnists and such.To sum up, The Conquest of Happiness falls short despite that there is in it much that’s sensible. More could have been done here to convince us. Perhaps Russell couldn’t do it. Or could not care to.* In the Liveright paperback reset and reissued in 1996, the epigraph has a misspelling. In “the mania of owing,” “owing” should be “owning.” Important difference!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I found a reference to Mr. Russell in The Gulag Peninsula with the inference that he was nieve in his views about the Communist Revolution. In this book he is nieve about other things as well. About the nature of evil and his godlike reverence for people of science. This book in general makes alot of sweeping assumptions and then some really bad solutions from them. I wont say there isn't grains of wisdom in it, but there's alot of junk inbetween.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hmm.. Self-help book from 1930 written by a philosopher-mathematician. Nothing awful, but nothing profound either, and frankly I'd be surprised if it really helped anyone.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My introduction to Mr. Russell, and I will be reading more of his work. True to its title, Russell's book is a guide to the perplexed who ask, "Why can't I be happy?" Divided into two sections - firstly, why people who are unhappy are unhappy, and secondly, why people who are happy are. The former is stronger than the latter. Mainly common sense, but oh how difficult to change the habits which lead to unhappiness! Readers should also note that this work was originally written in the late 1920s (copyright date 1930), and Russell was definitely a man of his time, with comments about race (he spends several pages at one point discussing the declining birth rate among "the white races" with it clearly being seen by him as a problem) and gender roles which would be shocking to read if not seen in context of the time. Despite these shortcomings, Russell has something worthwhile to say here, and I would recommend it to anyone, with the caveat that you may want to hurl the book across the room at times.