The Quest for the Good Life: Ancient Philosophers on Happiness by Oyvind Rabbas, Miira Tuominen and others - 10 out of 10

 

The Quest for the Good Life: Ancient Philosophers on Happiness by Oyvind Rabbas, Miira Tuominen and others

10 out of 10

 

 

We have a lot to learn from ancient philosophers, one could argue that everything we need to know is there, furthermore, people lack education today, to the point where the basic knowledge of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and some of the other stupendous luminaries is absent, reading is limited to Dan Brown and the like

 

If we took the advice of the Stoics http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/08/stoicism-stoic-approach-to-modern-life.html the planet would not be in the shape it is, for the main principle-it seems to me – would be to refrain from over consumption, in other words, the earth would be saved, if only we were buying things all the time

This book could be life-changing, for it would give readers the chance to see what Ancient Philosophers had to say on Happiness, and with that, you could lead a paradisiacal life, except of course, if chance would not interfere (or God, for those who accept that premise) to ruin health or other circumstances

 

Take the advice of Aristotle, who said something like ‘happiness is the goal of life, if you have it, this is it, and if you do not, then you long for it’, he talked about the golden mean, which is such fabulous advice – virtue is flanked by vice, if you do not show generosity, you are a cheap fellow, but to the other side, you would put your family on the street, if you are magnanimous to the point where you disperse all you have

Seneca is another role model that was one of the wealthiest men in Ancient times, but his thoughts on fortune, ‘wishing for what you already have, the way to be rich, which is to subtract from your desires for things’, could make life so much easier today, when research has demonstrated that Seneca was right

 

Studies have looked at lottery winners (and others that have lots of money) and they compared the reported wellbeing, before and after the big win, only to find that after a boost which lasts for some months, winners of one million dollars and more return to the base level of happiness, due to what is called Hedonic Adaptation

Eudaimonia is a concept that is not only explained in the book, effort is made to look at it in detail, indeed, the reason why this work has only a few ratings and just four reviews on Goodreads is that it is for the crème de la crème, the ones that can get the whole benefit are very few, the nec plus ultra, luminaries

For the hoi polloi, you and me, there is the pleasure of finding about Happiness, and though we could not follow (maybe you could) the sophisticated arguments, the analysis of justice, how this and other aspects can affect, improve happiness, we can still keep the more accessible concepts – ‘the virtuoso man is a happy man’

 

That is just one example, we can find solutions, from the ancients and the modern studies that confirm what the wise of golden ages have said, Learned Optimism http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/07/learned-optimism-by-martin-seligman.html is one such volume form our age, written by the founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, the sages have been proved right

You have so many books available that offer the rules of happiness, and you can set them against what the Ancient Philosophers said, another fabulous read would be The How of Happiness http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, where you have 12 suggestions

 

Showing gratitude is one of the most common suggestions, tests have showed that after some four or six weeks of engaging with this exercise, participants become happier, Cultivating Optimism is another idea, Avoid Social Comparison, Engage in random acts of kindness, would be others and we find them in ancient treaties

It is phenomenal to see those old words of wisdom, applied in practice, and the results of this research confirming what the Ancients have said millennia ago, acts of kindness set off a positive spiral, where the benefactor becomes elated by the reaction of beneficiaries of kindness and then he is more munificent

 

Which brings more gratitude, and then that boosts magnanimity, resulting in the affirmation that ‘this generosity is the most selfish act you could commit’, something like this is part of the Harvard positive psychology course, which is the most popular in the history of that prestigious institution, you find it on YouTube…

Harvard Professor Tal-Ben Shahar http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/07/positive-psychology-on-youtube-by.html and other Happiness experts of our times base their knowledge on the Ancient Philosophers, who have thought about Happiness, which was Eudaimonia for the Greeks, something that was looking at the longer term, the Epicureans were looking at the shorter, immediate term, even if they had a point

 

Indeed, the modern world has changed the significance of many terms, the stoics were not really ascetic hermits, nor the epicureans greedy creatures, with Gargantuan appetites, they have had differences of proportion, focus, priorities, but they were incredibly wise, insisting on Ataraxia, Equanimity

I see a huge contrast between the Ancients, with all their major flaws, and the humans of the present, who vote for Trump, nay, hundreds of millions across the globe worship the idiot and his replicas – the most recent, Milei, has been elected in Argentina, one given to excess and absurdity, nonsense and aberration

 

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world  – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html 

Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”