Bertrand starts off in chapter 1 by comparing animals to people. Saying that animals are happy so long as they have their health and enough to eat, and basically indicates that people should be the same way. He says that "if you are unhappy, you will probably be prepared to admit that you are not exceptional in this." Basically saying that people are aware of their unhappiness. He goes on to say that there is an art in reading faces; basically that if you pay attention to those around you or even to the faces of complete strangers as you observe them in passing, the happiness or unhappiness rather is easily detectable.
He then gives a quote by Blake, but doesn't indicate who Blake is: "A mark and every face I meet, marks of weakness, marks of woe."
Bertrand states that "unhappiness meets you everywhere." He says that if you empty your mind and let go of your own ego then you can absorb the personalities of people around you wherever you go and that at each of these places you are sure to find people facing troubles.
He describes a scene in which there is a road full of cars, each concentrating on their own destination; and to the road ahead of them, and therefore unable to remove their concentration to the scenery surrounding them or to other cars who have had accidents along the way. I believe he is using this analogy to show how people are so involved in their day-to-day life, that they fail to recognize the lives of others around them. He is not saying that you should take your focus off the road while driving and cause an accident; however, he is saying that people should stop and pay more attention to what's going on in the world outside of their own bubble, because doing so could teach us a lot about happiness.
He describes drinking as a way that people use as a gateway into happiness; but that it actually does the opposite. That it takes the focus off of unhappy relationships, and basically; instead of removing oneself from the unhappy relationship, is the temporary Band-Aid to help you forget how unhappy you are within it. He also says that can sometimes bring grown men to tears because when they drink they reflect on where they are lacking morally or otherwise.
He goes on to say that our social system is the cause of unhappiness in our society.
He says that in his book the guidance that offers as a cure to unhappiness, will not take into account those who are "subject to any extreme cause of outward misery"- that have not suffered "great catastrophes, such as loss of all of one's children, or public disgrace." And that he will "assume sufficient income to secure food and shelter sufficient health to make ordinary bodily activities possible." His cure he says, is for the day-to-day unhappiness from which most people in civilized countries suffer."
He says that he was not born happy and that even as early as age 5, he could foresee a long life of boredom ahead of him "to be almost undurable." I think that if that is the case it's really good that he found an outlet such as philosophy and writing in which to minimize that boredom that he foreseen. He says as a teenager he hated life and the only thing that kept him from suicide was his desire to know more about mathematics. I found this both sad and funny, being someone who really enjoys the philosophy and mathematics myself. But he does go on to say that he upon writing this book had found a way to enjoy life very much so.
He accredits his ability to enjoy life to discovering what he desired most and "acquiring many of those things;" and another part to dismissing some of his desires as "unattainable."
But says that in larger part, the way that he found enjoyment in life, is due to a "diminishing preoccupation" with himself.
He says that he used to concentrate on his sins and what he's doing wrong in life and that that concentration led to misery for him. That when he was less hard on himself and started focusing on the world outside of him and the state of the world and became interested in learning about different branches of knowledge, that misery within him was relieved.
He says the bad things happen in life such as losing loved ones and war; but that even through the bad, quality of life is still obtainable. That "disgust" with oneself, is what makes it unattainable.
He says self-absorption is bad, and that "external discipline," is the only cure for those who wish self-absorption is too profound. He gives three types of people that fall in that category: the center, the narcissist, and the megalomantic.
The sinner, he says is not someone who is sinful but someone who is "absorbed in the consciousness of their sin." Is basically saying that even if the person is religious, they dwell on their sins, rather than seeing them as forgiven (in the eyes of God.)
Narcissism, he defines as "admiring oneself, and wishing to be admired." He says that up to some point we all wish to be admired but says that in excess it becomes an evil.
Hey defines the megalomantic as similar to The narcissist but instead of wishing to be desired he says they wish "to be more powerful rather than charming." He says "to this type of long many lunatics and most of the great men in history," which I found to be rather funny.
He says that all forms of unhappiness have one thing in common, and that the person was "deprived in youth, of some normal satisfaction;" and therefore values that satisfaction within their adulthood over all others.
He thinks most people would choose happiness over unhappiness, if they see a way of achieving it. He says that the narcissist and the magalomanic at least "believe that happiness is possible," just have "mistaken means," for achieving it. But that someone who chooses intoxication in any form, indicates that they've given up any chance at happiness.
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