I am a fan of the English comedian Bill Bailey… I find his humor eclectic and his grasp of philosophy so insprising so I loved picking up his beautiful book Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to Happiness a few years ago in the bookshop. With a chapter on each of the things that bring him delight this makes a great book to keep on the coffee table and dive into from time to time, it also contains his own quirky illustrations. Some of the chapter titles and happinesses Bill enjoys and writes about include, paddleboarding, wild swimming, art, walking, being in nature, simplicity, singing, dogs, crazy golf, swearing, personal reflection and being someone to rely on.
The following outtake is from the chapter on pleasure which contains an analysis of the philosophy and world view of John Stuart Mill, an exploration of his childhood and adolescence as well as a contrast of the Aristotlean and Epicurean world views.
When I was fifteen my mother expressed concern that I wanted to go out with my friends again. She said “Life is not always about pleasure.” As a teenager, the idea of life not being about pleasure seemed ludicrous. Life is pleasure, isn’t it? It’s all there is! Pleasure all the way!
Today, though, her words resonate with me more. If by pleasure you mean hedonism, larks, fun, then yes, its just one aspect of happiness, and its appeal changes over time. The idea that there can be different kinds of happiness is an old one, argued over by the Greek philosophers. If I could go back to that mother and son conversation and briefly inhabit my teenage self, I might have said, “Well, Mum, I can see you’re veering more towards Aristotle’s view of happiness, that requires not just adherence to an ethical lifestyle, but a degree of virtue, whereas I myself am leaning more towards Epicurus in his pursuit of pleasure as a means of happiness. Unlike the Aristotelian view, shared by the Stoics, the Cynics, and to some extent the Sceptics, the Epicurean philosopy identifies happiness not with virtue but with pleasure. Which I think is equally valid so in some ways we’re both right.
But at the time, I just said “I’m going to see the Stranglers.”
And later that evening I stood in the crowd in Bath Pavilion and watched the Stranglers play in all their glorious pomp. I sang lustily along to ‘Hanging Around’, ‘Duchess’ and stood agog at the drumming on ‘Genetix.’ At one point Jean Jacques Burnel took off his bass guitar and started hurling it around his head, which was unbelievably exciting. John Stuart Mill would have admired the beauty of the moment.
On my way home the electric thrill of it sparked and crackled through my limbs. Joy unbridled! A night filled with pleasure of which Epicurus himself would have approved.
Emerging From The Dark Night 