PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 | Page 68

A Philosophical Dossier on Happiness
NIETZSCHE: Happiness is… irrationality 17
Short biography
Friedrich Nietzsche 18 (1844—1900) was a German philosopher, essayist, and cultural
critic. His writings on truth, morality, language, aesthetics, cultural theory, history, ​ nihilism​ ,
power, consciousness, and the meaning of existence have exerted an enormous influence on
Western philosophy and intellectual history. He spoke of "the death of ​ God​ ," and foresaw the
dissolution of traditional religion and metaphysics. Some interpreters of Nietzsche believe he
embraced nihilism, rejected philosophical reasoning, and promoted a literary exploration of
the human condition, while not being concerned with gaining truth and knowledge in the
traditional sense of those terms. Some of his most notable works include ​ The Birth of
Tragedy, Human, All Too Human , Thus Spoke Zarathustra , Ecce Homo and
many others.
FROMM: Happiness is… unlikely, nowadays 19
Short biography
Erich Fromm (1900-1980) was a 20th century sociologist, psychoanalyst, and something
of a polymath who studied and published work in a diverse array of fields, including
psychology, anthropology, religion, ethics, psychoanalysis, sociology, and philosophy. His
psychological writings intersperse politics with philosophy, and Fromm is viewed by many as
the founder of political psychology. Some of his most notable works include ​ Escape from
Freedom, The Art of Loving, Socialist Humanism, To Have or to Be?, On Being
Human​ and many others.
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“The night remained clear and calm, and happiness itself came closer and closer to him. Towards morning,
however, Zarathustra laughed to his heart, and said mockingly: "Happiness runs after me. That is because I do
not run after women. Happiness, however, is a woman." ( ​ Thus spoke Zarathustra, pg. 130​ )
“There is no isolated happiness or suffering, only a happiness-suffering flow back and forth. Happiness is the
release from suffering. Suffering is the loss of happiness. There would be no happiness without suffering. There
would be no suffering without happiness.” ( ​ Thus spoke Zarathustra, pg. 280​ )
"Happiness is the feeling that power increases — that resistance is being overcome" ( ​ The Anti-Christ​ )
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For more details http://www.iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/
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“Modern man's happiness consists in the thrill of looking at the shop windows, and in buying all that he can
afford to buy, either for cash or on installments. He (or she) looks at people in a similar way. For the man an
attractive girl—and for the woman an attractive man—are the prizes they are after. "”( ​ The art of loving, pg. 3​ )
“Genuine love is an expression of productiveness and implies care, respect, responsibility and knowledge. It is
not an "affect" in the sense of being affected by somebody, but an active striving for the growth and happiness of
the loved person, rooted in one's own capacity to love.” ( ​ The art of loving, pg. 74​ )
“Man's happiness today consists in "having fun." Having fun lies in the satisfaction of consuming and "taking in"
commodities, sights, food, drinks, cigarettes, people, lectures, books, movies—all are consumed, swales lowed.
The world is one great object for our appetite, a big apple, a big bottle, a big breast; we are the sucklers, the
eternally expectant ones, the hopeful ones—and the eternally disappointed ones. Our character is geared to
exchange and to receive, to barter and to consume; everything, spiritual as well as material objects, becomes an
object of exchange and of consumption.” ( ​ The art of loving, pg. 102​ )
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