—from The Conquest of Happiness (Part II)
Bertrand Russell
[1]Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may perhaps be regarded as doubtful question.There is certainly much work which is exceedingly irksome, and an excess of work is always very painful.I think, however, that provided work is not excessive in amount, even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness.There are in work all grades, from mere relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights , according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the worker.Most of the work that most people have to do is not initselfinteresting, but even such work has certain great advantages.To begin with, it fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do.Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing.To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.Moreover the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome .Except topeople with unusual initiative it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the day, provided the orders are not too unpleasant.Most of the idle rich suffer unspeakable boredom as the price of their freedom from drudgery .At times they may find relief by hunting big game inAfrica, or by flying round the world, but the number of such sensations is limited, especially after youth is past.Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part keep themselves busyinnumerable trifles of whose earth-shaking importance they are firmly persuaded.
[2]Work therefore is desirable, first and foremost ,as a preventive of boredom,for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days.With this advantage of work another is associated, namely that it makes holiday much more delicious when they come.Provided a man does not have to worksohardas to impair his vigor, heis likely tofind far more zest in his free time than an idle man could possibly find.
[3]The second advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and opportunities for ambition.In most work success is measured by income and while our society continues, this is inevitable.It is only where the best work is concerned that this measure ceases to be the natural one to apply.The desire that men feel to increase their income is quite as much a desire for success as for extra comforts that a higher income can procure.However dull work may be, it becomes bearable if it isa means ofbuilding up a reputation, whether in the world at large or only in one’s own circle.Continuity of purpose is one of the most essential ingredients of happiness in the long run, and for most men this comeschieflythrough their work.In this respect those women whose lives are occupied with housework are much less fortune than men, or than women who work outside the home.The domesticated wife does not receive wages, hasno means ofbettering herself, is taken for granted by her husband (who sees practically nothing of what she does), and is valued by him not for her housework but for quite other qualities.Of course thisdoes not apply tothose women who are sufficiently well-to-do to make beautiful houses and beautiful gardens and become the envy of their neighbors; but such women are comparatively few, andfor the great majorityhousework cannot bring as much as satisfaction as work of other kinds brings to men an to professional women.
[4]The satisfaction of killing time and of affording some outlet however modest, for ambition, belongs to most work, and is sufficient to make even a man whose work is dull happier on the average than a man who has no work at all.But when work is interesting, it is capable of giving satisfaction of a far higher order than mere relief from tedium.The kinds of work in which there is some interest may be arranged in a hierarchy.I shall begin with those which are only mildly interesting and end with those thatare worthy to absorb the whole energies of a great man.
[5]Two chief elements make work interesting: first, the exercise of skill, and second, construction.
[6]Every man who has acquired some unusual skill enjoys exercising it until it has becomea matter of course,or until he can no longer improve himself.This motive to activity begins in early childhood: a boy who can stand on his head becomes reluctant to stand on his feet.A great deal of work gives the same pleasure that is to be derived from games of skill.The work of a lawyer or a politician must contain in a more delectable from a great deal of the same pleasure that is to be derived from playing bridge.Here of course there is not only the exercise of skill but the outwitting of a skilled opponent.Even where this competitive element is absent, however, the performance of difficult feats is agreeable.A man who can do stunts in an aeroplane finds that pleasure so great that for the sake of it he is willing to risk his life.I imagine that an able surgeon, in spite of the painful circumstances in which his work is done, derives satisfaction from the exquisite precision of his operations.The same kind of pleasure, though in a less intense form,is to be derived from a great deal of work of a humbler kind.All skilled work can be pleasurable, provided the skill required is either variable or capable of indefinite improvement.If these conditions are absent, it will cease to be interesting when a man has acquired his maximum skill.A man who runs three-mile races will cease to find pleasure in this occupation when he passes the age at which he can beat his own previous record.Fortunately there is a very considerable amount of work in which new circumstances call for new skill and a man can go on improving, at any rate until he has reached middle age.In some kinds of skilled work, such as politics, for example, it seems that men are at their best between sixty and seventy, the reason being that in such occupations a wide experience of other man is essential.For this reason successful politicians are apt to be happier at the age of seventy than any other men of equal age.Their only competitors in this respect are the men who are the heads of big businesses.
[7]There is, however, another element possessed by the best work, which is even more important as a source of happiness than is the exercise of skill.There is the element of constructiveness.In some work, thoughby no meansin most, something is built up which remains as a monument when the work is completed.We may distinguish construction from destruction by the following criterion. In construction the initial state of affairs is comparatively haphazard, while the final state of affairs embodies a purpose.In destruction the reverse is the case; the initial state of affairs embodies a purpose, while the final state of affairs is haphazard, that is to say, all that is intended by the destroyer is to produce a state of affairs which does not embody a certain purpose.This criterion applies in the most literal and obvious case, namely the construction and destruction of buildings.In constructing a building a previously made plan is carried out, whereas in destroying it no one decides exactly how the materials are to lie when the demolition is completed.Destruction is of course necessary very often as a preliminary to subsequent construction, in that case it is part of a whole which is constructive.But not infrequently a man will engage in activities of which the purpose is destructive without regard to any construction that may come after.Frequently he will conceal this from himself by the belief that he is only sweeping away in order to build afresh, but it generally possible to unmask this pretense, when it is a pretense, by asking him what the subsequent construction is to be.On this subject it will be found that he will speak vaguely and without enthusiasm, whereas on the preliminary destruction he has spoken precisely and with zest.This applies to not a few revolutionaries and militarists and other apostles of violence.They are actuated, usually without their own knowledge, by hatred: the destruction of what they hate is their real purpose, and they are comparatively indifferent to the question what is to come after it.Now I cannot deny that in the work of destruction as in the work of construction there may be joy.It is a fiercer joy, perhaps at moments more intense, but it is less profoundly satisfying, since the result is one in which little satisfaction is to be found.You kill your enemy, and when he is dead your occupation is gone, and the satisfaction that you derive from victory quickly fades. The work of construction, on the other hand, when completed, is delightful to contemplate , andmoreoveris never so fully complete that there is nothing further to do about it.The most satisfactory purposes are those that lead on indefinitely from one success to another without ever coming to a dead end; and in this respect it will be found that construction is a greater source of happiness than destruction.Perhaps it would be more correct to say that those who find satisfaction in construction find in it greater satisfaction than the lovers of destruction can find in destruction, for if once you have become filled with hate you will not easily derive from construction the pleasure which another man would derive from it.
After You Read
Knowledge Focus
1.Pair work: Discuss the following questions with your partner.
1)What, according to the author, are the advantages of doing work which is in itself dull and uninteresting?
2)What reasons does Russell give when he says that most people are reluctant to decide what to do for themselves?
3)Which do you think is more unbearable, idleness or boredom from doing tedious work? Why?
4)What makes the author think that housewives are less fortunate than women working outside home? Do you agree with him? Give reasons.
5)What kind of skilled work can offer continuous pleasure to the worker?
6)How does Russell define construction and destruction?
7)What is, in Russell’s view, the most powerful motive for work?
8)What do you think are the elements that make work interesting?
2.Solo work: Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to what you learned and tell why.
____ 1)There is certainly much work which is exceedingly irksome.
____ 2)Most of the work that most people have to do is interesting in itself, and such work has certain great advantages.
____ 3)Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice,are at a loss tothink of what to do.
____ 4)To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization.
____ 5)Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work hardly as hard as if they were poor.
____ 6)Work therefore is desirable,first and foremost,as acatalystof boredom.
____ 7)Another advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success.
____ 8)The desire that men feel to increase their income is not as strong as the desire for success.
____ 9)Women whose lives are occupied with housework are much less fortune than men.
____ 10)Two chief elements make work interesting: first, the exercise of skill, and second, destruction.
Language Focus
1.Fill in the blanks with the following words you have learned from the text.
irk
actuate
literal
outwit
procure
unmask profound initiative indefinite humble
1)The reason why a lot of private businessmen failed after their initial success was because they had been _____ by the desire to grab as much money as possible in as short a time as possible.
2)If you play chess with computers, it is not easy to _____ it.
3)The boss’s descending attitude _____ him so much that he decided to quit the job.
4)You have to _____ a building permit before you can start adding a wing to the house.
5)She _____ waited for a whole hour in the pouring rain, but the bus never came.
6)Though such a great figure as he is, he always takes very _____ positions during the communication with civilians.
7)Her _____ answer toward his romantic proposal worried him so much that he lost his sleep.
8)Xiao Li had strong _____ to win the battle.
9)You definitely can not get the _____ beauty of this novel if you only read it once.
10)The truth was _____ after one month’s careful investigation.
2.Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the given words.
1)The office buildings with their _____ (desire) location are very much in demand.
2)In that part of the world, the summer weather is so _____ (vary) that you can never tell when it is necessary to take umbrella.
3)He said he would come to the dress rehearsal, _____ (provide) he was not too busy.
4)The Suzhou style embroidery _____ (requirement) very exquisite skills.
5)It is not the hardship but the _____ (bore) of the work that dispelled him the most.
6)Although kids are very lovely, it can be an extremely _____ (tire) job to look after several of them.
7)There are some scenes in that TV show too _____ (sensation) to be watched by children.
8)If you make a reasonable _____ (compare), you will make you decision easily.
9)You cannot get the _____ (essence) element of their culture unless you adapt yourself well into their society.
10)Shooting requires great _____ (precisely).
3.Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the expressions listed below.
be apt to
by means of
by no means take for granted
be at a loss
in comparison with cease to
be sufficient to
on the average be derived from
1)They managed to trace his whereabouts _____ checking on his credit card expenditures.
2)When their mother was alive, they had always _____ what she did for them.
3)It is _____ impossible to learn swimming in three days if you have a good coach.
4)A man who likes to promise, is also _____ forget.
5)He was_____forasuitable reply.
6)He is rather dull_____others.
7)You will_____ fear if you give up all yourhope.
8)The incident was_____disarrange her whole life.
9)He spends_____two hours a dayonreading.
10)Values are _____ scientific experiments.
4.Find the appropriate prepositions that collocate with the neighbouring words.
1)Thismotiveto activity begins _____early childhood.
2)_____ the sake _____ the pleasure, he is willing to risk his life.
3)I imagine that an able surgeon, in spite _____ the painful circumstances in which his work is done, derives satisfaction _____ theexquisite precisionof his operations.
4)Fortunately there is a very considerable amount _____ work.
5)New circumstances call for new skill and a man can go on improving,at any _____until he has reached middle age.
6)In some kinds of skilled work, such as politics, for example, it seems that men are _____ their best between sixty and seventy.
7)_____ such occupations a wide experience of other man is essential.
8)In some work, though_____ no meansin most, something is built up which remains as amonumentwhen the work is completed.
5.Proofreading.
Comprehensive Work
1.Pair work: Read the following passage about Bertrand Russell and share your information about it with your partner.
Bertrand Arthur William Russell (18 May 1872-2 February 1970) was a Britishphilosopher,logician,mathematician,historian, andsocial critic.At various points in his life he considered himself aliberal, asocialist, and apacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these in any profound sense.He was born in Monmouthshire, into one of the most prominent aristocratic families in Britain.
Russell led the British “revolt againstidealism”in the early 20th century.He is considered one of the founders ofanalytic philosophyalong with his predecessorGottlob Fregeand his friendLudwig Wittgenstein, and is widely held to be one of the 20th century’s premier logicians.He co-authored, withA.N.Whitehead,Principia Mathematica, an attempt to ground mathematics on logic.His philosophical essay “On Denoting”has been considered a “paradigm of philosophy”.His work has had a considerable influence onlogic,mathematics,set theory, linguistics,computer science(seetype theoryandtype system), andphilosophy, especiallyphilosophy of language,epistemology, andmetaphysics.
2.Group work: Make an online research on Bertrand Russell’s The Conquest of Happiness and discuss with your group members the most effective approaches to your pursuit of personal happiness.
3.Group work: Discussion.
As a university student, have you ever done any part-time jobs? If yes, please share your working experiences with your group members.Details like the motives of getting a job, the process of job-hunting, the specific obligations and tasks of your job, the payment, your feelings about the job, etc.should be included.If not, have you ever thought about doing so? What has hindered you from putting it into practice?
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