The Happy man is a man who lives objectively, has free affections and a wide variety of intrests. A happy man secures his happiness through these intrests and affections. These in turn make him an object of interest and affection to others. In Russell's book The Conquest to Happiness, many theories are explored. The purpose of the book is to suggest a solution for the ordinary day to day unhappiness, from which most people from civilized countries suffer from. It is all the more unbearable because he sees no external cause and it appears to inescapable. .
Russell believes that this unhappiness ids due to mistaken views of the world, ethics and their habits of life. The novel proposes ways in which happiness may be achieved. Many points that are made are form his experiences with other philosophers, philosophies, as well as religious observations. .
The book is divided into two parts. Part one covers causes of unhappiness. He explains the Bryanic unhappiness , which is in reference to Lord Bryan. The point of view which Russell wishes to set forth by Bryan says: There's not a joy in the world that can give like it takes away. When the glow of early thought declines, feelings decay. .
The people that have this view are very unhappy and they are proud of their unhappiness which they attribute to the nature of the universe that Russell believes in. Which is that those who attribute their sorrows to their views about the universe are unhappy. It is also the same reason that those people are unaware of their unhappiness and which will lead them to dwell upon less agreeable characteristics of the world that they live in. .
Russell also states that the struggle for life is really the struggle for success. The root of this trouble comes from too much emphasis on competitive success as the main source of success. .
The philosophy of life according to which life is a contest, in which respect is according to the victory.