THE pursuit of happiness is fine, but little by little it has turned into an obsession, an imposition - a secular religion even. It all started with the Enlightenment. Happiness was not welcome to Catholics or Protestants: the goal was to redeem yourself from original sin, gain salvation and be happy in the afterlife. The philosophers' challenge was that happiness is in the present, that we don't have to wait. That overturned traditions in which pain and distress were the main experience, with fleeting moments of happiness. The challenge was - and is - a good one. What I criticise is that in the name of happiness we are making ourselves unhappy.
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