The art of happiness

Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*uck, returns with a book that explores the connections between hope, pain and suffering

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*uck, author Mark Manson evaluated the connections between hope, pain and suffering and how those emotions tie in with success. In the book under review, he takes those discussions up a notch by distilling these ideas on a largely philosophical plane.

Mr Manson starts off by presenting a generalised view of human psychology, dividing our consciousness into a Thinking Brain, the rational mind that takes logical decisions, and the Feeling Brain, its emotional complement that governs our feelings. He dovetails this distinction into a thoughtful discussion about the mechanism of hope and its place in our world.

One of Mr Manson’s main arguments is the paradox of prosperity. He argues that over the past century, the West has experienced material progress of an order that was historically unimaginable. From physical security to the fruits of modernity, most Westerners now enjoy an existence that is far better than anything experienced by previous generations.

Yet, despair is on the rise. As communities break down and the pull of religion loosens, there is greater atomisation in society, which has people scampering for meaning and purpose in their lives. Mr Manson argues that the promises of modernity have made the West materially richer but have also left it spiritually wanting. 

The way out of this conundrum, he suggests, is to live an examined life. He speaks of meditation as a mechanism to broaden our consciousness, to let the full force of the past and the current moment wash over us, and help us reach a place of quiet where our need to be constantly on the run for the next thing to buy or consume dissipates. 

In making his case, Mr Manson enlists the help of a bevy of philosophers. A chapter called “The Formula of Humanity” comes from the Kantian idea that the driving force behind our actions should be other people and their welfare. He also flips Newton’s three laws of mechanics into rules of well-being. 

None of this is to say that the book is a soft touch, asking us to abandon our lives in pursuit of a nebulous idea of personal welfare. Mr Manson brings up Nissim Nicholas Taleb’s idea of “antifragility” to show how certain systems, such a loving relationship or an army unit, get stronger under stress. He stresses repeatedly that life is made of, and defined by, obstacles, and the reason the West is struggling spiritually is that it has weaponised the idea of painlessness. In so doing, it has robbed itself of that which gives life meaning. 

To Mr Manson, meditation is not a time-bound exercise performed to bolster well-being. Halfway through the book, he quotes Nietzsche to warn against the idea of a passive hope, one that revolves around the architecture of our current life, our dreams of bettering our lot. Rather, “hope for the infinite opportunity and oppression present in every moment.” This is a somewhat distinct outlook on hope from one that Mr Manson introduced us to at the beginning of the book: The meta-idea of seeking it out by giving up on it.

As for the way forward, Mr Manson is an unabashed Artificial Intelligence advocate who believes that we are entering an age of automation that will witness ever-greater advances until we reach a stage where our consciousness fuses with those of machines. The book is perhaps the weakest at this point since the tone of the argument shifts abruptly from spiritual awakening to singing hosannas to AI.

Thus far, the book relied on experiences of leaders as well as the author’s personal examples to narrate what is essentially a deeply human condition: Our spiritual need for struggle. But with AI, Mr Manson reverts to a lazier argument: Once AI takes over most human endeavours, it will be left to us to figure out what to do with ourselves. Mr Manson characterises such a world as strikingly similar to one inhabited by our ancestors, where most things were unknown and unknowable.

In truth, the scope of AI thus developed leads less to such outcomes than it does to an ecosystem where repetitive tasks will be increasingly taken over by software, leaving humans to apply their creativity — of which consciousness is an essential part, something AI lacks — to new and as yet unexplored frontiers.

Everything is F*cked is, like its predecessor, a book that slyly subverts the brio of its title to present arguments and offer solutions that call for a greater, ever-present and active engagement with a rapidly changing world. Mr Manson is an optimistic writer with a deep belief in humanity’s myriad gifts and no amount of irony, literary or otherwise, can challenge this basic claim.
 

Everything is F*cked: A Book about Hope

Mark Manson
 

HarperCollins

Price: Rs 499, 273 pages