The Conquest of Happiness

Everyone wishes to be happy, yet many pursue happiness by methods almost guaranteed to prevent it. We are encouraged to compete without ceasing, to envy those who appear more fortunate, to mistake excitement for fulfilment, and to seek approval from strangers rather than understanding ourselves. The result is a peculiar kind of modern discontent: materially richer than previous generations, yet often no more at ease.

Bertrand Russell argued that happiness is neither a gift bestowed by fortune nor a state achieved by wishful thinking. It is the consequence of habits of mind, clarity of thought, and an intelligent engagement with the world beyond oneself. His reflections remain strikingly relevant in an age of endless comparison, distraction, and anxiety.

This lecture explores the principal causes of unhappiness and contrasts them with the conditions under which genuine happiness may flourish, with the wisdom to distinguish what can be changed from what must simply be lived with. Along the way, it asks whether our search for certainty may itself be one of the greatest obstacles to happiness.

This is an invitation to think philosophically about one of life’s oldest and most urgent questions. The aim is not merely to feel better, it is to understand what makes a life worth living.

The lecture will be delivered by Br. Piran-María, Philosopher-in-Residence and cognitive scientist at the Birmingham & Midland Institute.

Trigger warning: topics include death, mortality, and the statistically well-supported possibility that you, too, will die someday.

Disclaimer: this lecture contains occasional strong language in the service of science, storytelling, and emphasis. Any swearing is entirely intentional.