Deconstructing Happiness

Abdullah Rayhan breaks down 'happiness' with Boethius, Kierkegaard & Montaigne.

- Abdullah Rayhan

We seek psychotherapy to deal with distress, sadness, depression, and psychological dimensions that are beyond our reach. Even after going through counselling we are seldom left with the satisfaction we deeply crave. This is where philosophy comes in.

To Socrates, philosophy was basically about finding the best way to live a life. He watched how life functions within society and examined the influences that shape it. Ever since his time, philosophers have continued to develop myriad further perspectives on human existence, from stoicism to romanticism, positivism, utilitarianism, existentialism, Hegelian, Kantian, you name it. But apart from some insights into the nature of existence, what help do they offer us? Existential philosophy will constantly remind you of life's futility; systems of ethics will keep painting idealistic portraits all to no avail. At the end of the day, they do not necessarily help you deal with the emotional struggles drowning your heart within a blurry tumult.

Fortunately, practical applications of philosophy do exist. Consider Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480-524CE). Unjustly thrown into prison, awaiting execution, he wrote a classic: On the Consolation of Philosophy. Last year, when I was at my lowest, estranged from everything I adored, all prospects of happiness ruined, abandoned to face monstrous adversities with a heavy bleeding heart, I found Boethius consoling.

Boethius