To a great extent, happiness is the result of good philosophy accompanied by good implementation. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) wrote essays for two decades with the sole goal of clarifying the path to happiness. He wanted to build himself a philosophy and a lifestyle conducting to happiness.
What lessons did Montaigne learn during his two decades of philosophical exploration? He learned that happiness depends on one’s lifestyle choices more than on anything else. We build our own happiness step by step if we acquire beneficial habits and practise them assiduously.
Realism is a crucial thinking habit to acquire if we want to maximize our happiness. On the one hand, we need to become conscious of our potential and bring it to the next level. On the other hand, we need to remain cool-headed in the face of errors and setbacks, failure and opposition, obstacles and bad luck.
Montaigne noted that friendship can immensely contribute to happiness, but that close, loyal friends are hard to come by. Etienne de La Boetie (1530-1563) was Montaigne’s best friend, but unfortunately, he died very young, years before Montaigne started to write his essays.
Montaigne’s essay “That the Soul Expends its Passions upon False Objects”
In his essays, Montaigne acknowledged that few individuals achieve happiness. He reflected long about the reasons, and concluded that unhappiness often arises from distractions, that is, from chasing harmful goals.
Montaigne presented his theory of happiness (or about how to prevent unhappiness) in his essay “That the Soul Expends its Passions upon False Objects.” I would translate the French title into contemporary English as follows: “That We Tend to Focus Our Attention on Matters of Little Importance.”
The core idea of the essay is that we would be happier and more effective if we devoted our energies to beneficial tasks. If we identify a happy lifestyle and stick to it, we would be better off than by changing direction all the time.
Montaigne acknowledged nevertheless that novelties exert a strong attraction on humans. It often happens that, like moths drawn by a flame, people will abandon their beneficial routines to pursue some short-term pleasures.
The result of such inconsistencies, points out Montaigne, it consistently disastrous; when we relinquish a happy lifestyle to chase novelties and short-term pleasures, we are bound to end up feeling “empty and discontented.”
Montaigne’s philosophy of happiness
The purpose of philosophy is to identify the good habits that build up a happy lifestyle, and steer away from distractions and short-term pleasures that lead to misery.
Montaigne compares bad distractions to the shadows in the allegory of the cave put forward by Plato (427-347 BC). Those shadows aren’t reality. They are neither tangible nor beneficial, but the cave prisoners keep regarding those shadows are true.
Moral integrity is a crucial prerequisite of happiness, argues Montaigne, because it helps people steer away from deceit and other crimes. Without integrity, it becomes impossible to make good decisions and stick to them.
As illustration of integrity, Montaigne mentions the Roman general Fabricius (280-250 BC), who opted for staying loyal to his people and rejecting the large bribe offered by Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus.
If Fabricius had accepted the bribe (short-term pleasure), he would have lost his long-standing reputation, his public office, and the affection from friends and family. Those losses would have proven catastrophic in the long term.
I must however criticise Montaigne for his rather confusing description of a happy lifestyle. On the one hand, he is praising the virtues of thoughtfulness, steadiness and persistence. On the other hand, he gives some historical examples that point in the opposite direction.
Montaigne’s views on a happy lifestyle
Montaigne mentions Diogenes the Cynic (412-323 BC) as a great example of wisdom, especially when he rejects an offer made by Alexander the Great (356-323 BC). It was an offer for a job as king’s counsellor or court philosopher.
According to Montaigne, the rejection shows that Diogenes was contented with his lifestyle and didn’t long for more. I am reluctant to accept Montaigne’s explanation because Diogenes was living in abject poverty. Why did he refuse to give advice to Alexander in exchange for some gold?
Montaigne’s most convincing example of a happy lifestyle is Epicurus (341-270 BC). Instead of the blind pursuit of short-term pleasures, Epicurus called for simple daily pleasures such as friendship, learning, moderate exercise and moderate eating.
We cannot attain happiness by chance or haphazardly. The historical examples given by Montaigne call for adopting good habits. Barring extraordinary bad luck, the good habits should lead to a happy lifestyle.
Let us not “mistake shadows for reality,” says Montaigne. It is of paramount importance to let go of worthless novelties and delusions of all sorts. Let us steer away from “false objectives” and choose the proven path to happiness, so that we can walk it day after day.
If you are interesting in putting rational ideas into practice day after day, I recommend you my book “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”