Man is an animal, and his happiness depends more on his physiology than on his liking to think. This is a humble conclusion, but I can't let myself not believe it. I believe that unhappy businessmen walking six miles a day will increase their happiness more than any conceivable philosophical change.
Moralists generally believe that you can't get happiness by pursuing it. This is true only when you pursue it unwisely. Gamblers in Monte Carlo pursue money, but most people lose money, but there are other ways to pursue money, which are often successful. So is happiness. If you pursue it by drinking, you forget the hangover. Epicurus pursued this goal. He only lived with like-minded people, ate only dry bread and added a little cheese on holidays. His method proved successful in his case, but he is a sickly man, and most people need something more energetic. For most people, the pursuit of happiness is too abstract and theoretical to be used as the criterion of personal life unless there are various ways to supplement it. But I think, no matter what personal life rule you choose, it should not be incompatible with happiness, except in a few heroic deeds.
Man is an animal, and his happiness depends more on his physiology than on his liking to think. This is a humble conclusion, but I can't let myself not believe it. I believe that unhappy businessmen walking six miles a day will increase their happiness more than any conceivable philosophical change.