Chp. 5-7 thoughts

 Russell continues with relating fatigue and envy as other factors that contribute to unhappiness. He correlates excessive fatigue with sound sleep or a good appetite. How both a sufficient amount of sleep and a healthy balanced diet can be good for you, however, an excessive amount of sleep or a poor appetite can be dangerous, so too can fatigue. A certain level of fatigue or exhaustion, the type that we typically experience throughout the day dealing with typical interactions and challenges, leads to a proper amount of fatigue that contributes to a healthy night sleep. However, fatigue, both physical and nervous, can lead to feeling unhappy in many areas of life. He mentions that ‘physical labour carried beyond a certain point is atrocious torture, and it has very frequently been carried so far as to make life all but unbearable; and expresses that  escaping from nervous fatigue in modern life is a very difficult thing.’ 

I agree that nervous fatigue can happen by simply interacting with strangers doing a day-to-day routine. The cycle of constantly giving energy to things is not only physically taxing but mentally. Coupled with the amount of stress and worrying we tap into fretting over things out of our control, leads to bouts of unhappiness. The example he gives is when he has to give a speech. Dwelling on the speech prior to giving it only produces more worry, equating to more nervous fatigue. Russell infers that dwelling on the outcome of a situation does nothing to actually change the situation at hand, for we ultimately have little to no control, however it creates a sense of strain on the mind.  I believe we do this often. That’s why he states men pass through years of strenuous struggle, when sound success comes a man is already a nervous wreck. We don’t often notice the happy successful moments that pass by us because we are too consumed by the strenuous moments. Russell says that Most men and women are very deficient in control over their thoughts, almost implying that this type of nervous wreck mentality is inevitable. 

They are going over and over again in their minds problems about which at the moment they can do nothing, thinking about them, not in a way to produce a sound line of conduct on the morrow, but in that half-insane way that characterises the troubled meditations of insomnia. Something of the midnight madness still clings about them in the morning, clouding their judgement, spoiling their temper, and making every obstacle infuriating.

Russell then suggests that the wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is a purpose in doing so and to cultivate an orderly mind is a crucial way to achieve both happiness and efficiency in life.

In chapter 6 Russell proceeds with tying envy into a cause of unhappiness. He states that next to worry probably one of the most potent causes of unhappiness is envy. Once again, I thought that he was a tad sexist in the chapter saying women fair more towards envy than men. I believe a good amount of enviness resides in both males and females, only presenting themselves differently. I did not agree when he said ‘women regard all other women as their competitors, whereas men as a rule only have this feeling towards other men in the same profession.’ As a rule, somehow now women have inherited default envy towards all other women, yet men, only to play by the rules, are only envious in business settings. (insert eye roll please). However, I do agree that of all the characteristics of ordinary human nature envy is the most unfortunate; Instead of deriving pleasure from what he has, he derives pain from what others have. The grass is always greener quote replays in my head when I read this chapter. It can be tiring to constantly, in a sense, peer over a fence that seems to always be getting higher in hopes to see the other side, or in hopes to in fact, climb over. 

Chapter 7 was interesting. Sin being a counterpart to unhappiness. Or rather, engaging in sin and thus feeling two possible emotions there after, remorse or repentance. Boiling down to how sin affects our overall consciousness. The word 'conscience' covers, as a matter of fact, several different feelings; the simplest of these is the fear of being found out. He goes on to say that man who does not accept the morality of the herd has nothing to hide and thus finds himself at no fault to sin. But the man who entirely accepts the morality of the herd while acting against it suffers great unhappiness when he loses caste, and the fear of this disaster, or the pain of it when it has happened, may easily cause him to regard his acts themselves as sinful. 

I do agree when Russell mentions that sin goes deeper than just the conscious mind. Almost as if man feels bad but is not quite sure why he does so. It goes deeper than fear of disapproval from others. Perhaps it is the fear of disapproval of self. He adds that allied with this feeling is the fear of becoming an outcast from the herd. Subjecting to being different and an outcast in society has always been a cause to do whatever is necessary, despite the means or moral compass. Russell relates the feeling of sin from a religious standpoint, however I feel that shame can be felt whether a person is tied to a religious background or not. Certain mannerisms that we typically learn at a young age can be religious based or bleed over to “just what is deemed normal or upstanding.” Such things include, sexual desires, lying, cussing, to name a few that Russell mention. 

“The sense of sin is especially prominent at moments when the conscious will is weakened by fatigue, by illness, by drink, or by any other cause.”

He later concludes that the aspect of morality, which we tie to sinful natures, is largely self centered. and the conception of sin is part of this unwise focusing of attention upon self. That relates back to the topic of finding happiness outside of ourselves. That true happiness often arises when we focus less on self and the circumstances happening within us, and focus more on connecting with people and places around us.