Our weltanschauung

Abstract

The novelist Anthony Powell said of one of his characters, “He fell in love with himself at first sight, and it is a passion to which he has always remained faithful.” Witty as this observation may be, narcissism is no laughing matter. The satisfaction that narcissism brings is very transient, because self-centeredness hinders the outward focus that is essential to good relationships. Bertrand Russell noted that we should “aim at avoiding self-centered passions and at acquiring those affections and those interests which will prevent our thoughts from dwelling perpetually on ourselves. It is not the nature of most men to be happy in a prison, and the passions which shut us up in ourselves constitute one of the worst of prisons.” Among the “passions” that can make us unhappy he listed fear, envy, competitiveness, the sense of sin, self-pity, and self-admiration. He concurred with the idea that, first and foremost, happiness is a state of mind. Extreme self-centeredness is a delusionary way of finding happiness. We have to evict the ghosts that plague us. The art of happiness is to neutralize or minimize the internal forces that torture us. We need to break out of our self-imposed prison. As the saying goes, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” Happiness is like a magic potion we cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on ourselves.