The Secrets of Happiness

Three thousand years of searching for the good life

Richard Schoch

ISBN 1861979096

March 2006

Price £15.99

Hardback, 288 pp.

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Subjects: Popular Philosophy, Psychology

A stylish, witty book about happiness that explains with authority what happiness actually is and why understanding its history can help us to live happier lives.

What connects a Greek philosopher with a cult following of prostitutes, a Roman civil servant who was unjustly executed, and a Persian scholar who traded books for mystic ecstasy?

This trio – Epicurus (341-271 BC), Boethius (c. 480-524 AD) and Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) – allowed their reflections about happiness to give meaning to their lives, and through such individuals and their ideas we can reclaim the lost art of happiness. Today, influenced by books on the "new science" of happiness and quick "self-help" panaceas, we have settled for a much weaker version of happiness than previous cultures: just enjoyment of pleasure and avoidance of pain and suffering. It is only through rediscovering the traditions that began in the West with the philosophers of Athens and in the East with anonymous Hindu sages that we can learn how to be genuinely happy again.

During the journey through ideas philosophical and religious, from around the world and across thousands of years, Professor Schoch answers questions that are fundamental to our wellbeing but are rarely asked. What does it feel like to be happy, and can you be happy if others are unhappy? Is happiness an emotion, or an attitude? How much effort do you have to make to be happy, and do you have a right to be happy? The good life is easier to grasp when you know the answers.

‘He wants to help us deal more elegantly with the frustrations of life…Schoch proves himself a genial guide…a sound introduction to important strands of religious and philosophical thought. ’
— Alain de Botton, Daily Telegraph

‘Full of interesting anecdotes.’
— Daily Mail