Schopenhauer: Self-Sufficiency is the Key to Happiness | Counsels & Maxims 9
What this covers
Sociability is inversely proportional to intellectual power, and to age.
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Section 9 of Counsels and Maxims (1851)
0:00 Introduction 1:15 Self-Sufficiency is Key to Happiness 4:00 Only Free When Alone 5:45 Higher Man is More Solitary 10:20 Society's Fake Hierarchy 12:43 Solitude's Evils Compared with Society's 13:45 Best to Be Alone 18:18 Orchestra of Russian Horns Infiltration Value of Solitude
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Music: Among the Clouds, by Darren Curtis
Thumbnail Image: 1815 Portrait, By Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl - Schopenhauer-Archiv der Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=394003
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Schopenhauer argues that self-sufficiency through solitude is the primary path to happiness, and that intellectual superiority naturally produces withdrawal from society because social interaction demands self-denial and exposes one to the vulgarity and lies that pervade human relations.
- Real happiness requires being 'all in all to oneself' and carrying everything within, which society systematically prevents through its demands for mutual accommodation and lies
- Intellectual superiority is inversely proportional to sociability—great minds find solitude necessary while ordinary people fear it because they cannot bear their own company
- Society offers no genuine compensation for the peace of mind lost through social engagement; the balance sheet always favors solitude for anyone of real merit
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To be self-sufficient—to want for nothing and be able to say 'I carry all my things with me'—is the chief qualification for happiness, as Aristotle stated: 'to be happy means to be self-sufficient.'
“to be self-sufficient to be all in all to oneself to want for nothing to be able to say Omnia Maya Porto that is I carry all my things with me that is assuredly the chief qualification for happiness hence Aristotle's remark hi you diona ton Aaron esti to be happy means to be self-sufficient”
Happiness is not an easy thing; it is very difficult to find within us and impossible to find elsewhere—a principle that should guide one's pursuit of it.
“happiness is not an easy thing it is very difficult to find it within us and impossible to find it elsewhere”
The burdens and disadvantages arising from having to do with others are countless and unavoidable, and worldliness (the pursuit of high life) represents a fundamentally mistaken path to happiness because it attempts to transform miserable existence into a succession of joys through social engagement.
“while a man cannot reckon with certainty upon anyone but himself the burdens and disadvantages the dangers and annoyances which arise from having to do with others are not only countless but unavoidable there is no more mistaken path to happiness than worldliness rry high life for the whole object of it is to transform our miserable existence into a succession of Joys Delights and Pleasures a process which cannot fail to result in disappointment and delusion”
Sociability stands in inverse ratio with age; small children cry at being left alone; young people soon become sociable; grown men can bear much solitude with little trouble; old men find solitude natural and proper to their condition.
“speaking generally sociability stands in inverse ratio with age a little child raises a Pious Cry of fright if it is left alone for only a few minutes and later on to be shut up by itself is a great punishment young people soon get on very friendly terms with one another and it is only the few among them of any nobility of Mind who are glad now and then to be alone but to spend the whole day thus would be disagreeable a grown-up man can easily do it it is little trouble to him to be much alone and it becomes less and less troubled as he advances in years an old man who has outlived all his friends and is either indifferent or dead to the pleasures of life is in his proper element in solitude”
Petrarch loved seclusion and sought to escape the crooked and stupid people who lost the road to Heaven; his love of seclusion and desire for solitude with streams, plains, and woods parallel other great thinkers' rejection of society.
“petrarch gives a similar reason for wishing to be alone that tender spirit so strong and constant in his love of seclusion the streams the Plains and woods know well he says how he has tried to escape the perverse and stupid people who have missed the way to heaven”
In individuals, moral and intellectual shortcomings are closely connected and play into each other's hands, producing disagreeable results that make intercourse with most people not only unpleasant but intolerable.
“the worst of it all is that in the individual moral and intellectual shortcomings are closely connected and play into each other's hands so that all manner of disagreeable results are obtained which make intercourse with most people not only unpleasant but intolerable”
Solitude is welcomed or endured or avoided according to a man's personal value: the wretched man flees solitude because he feels the full burden of his misery alone, while the great intellect delights in solitude and his own greatness.
“Solitude will be welcomed or endured or avoided according as a man's personal value is large or small the wretch feeling when he is alone the whole burden of his misery the great intellect delighting in its greatness and everyone in short being just what he is”
People are expected to exhibit unlimited patience toward every form of folly, stupidity, and dullness, while personal merit has to beg pardon for existing or conceal itself altogether; intellectual superiority offends by its very existence without any desire to do so.
“people are expected to exhibit an unlimited amount of patience towards every form of folly and stupidity perversity and dullness whilst personal Merit has to beg pardon as it were for being present or else conceal itself altogether intellectual superiority offends by its very existence without any desire to do so”
The more a man is worth, the more he will find that what he gains from society does not cover what he loses; the people he deals with are generally bankrupt in terms of offering anything to compensate for the boredom, annoyance, and self-denial that society requires.
“the more man is worth the more he will find that what he gains does not cover what he loses and that the balance is on the debit side of the account for the people with whom he deals are generally bankrupt that is to say there is nothing to be got from their society which can compensate either for its boredom annoyance and disagreeableness or for the self-denial which it renders necessary”
Society has adopted a false kind of superiority based on conventional character, arbitrary principles, tradition, and fashion—a 'password' subject to alteration—which is weak compared to real intellectual superiority, though it dominates social judgment.
“Society has capriciously adopted a false kind of superiority conventional in its character and resting upon arbitrary principles a tradition as it were handed down in higher circles and like a password subject to alteration I refer to Bonton fashion whenever this kind of superiority comes into collision with the real kind it's weak Ness is Manifest”
Loneliness and solitude have their evils, but these are visible and knowable; society, by contrast, is insidious, offering the appearance of pleasant social intercourse while secretly working great and often irreparable mischief.
“loneliness and Solitude have their evils it is true but if you cannot feel them all at once you can at least see where they lie on the other hand Society is Insidious in this respect as in offering you what appears to be the Pastime of pleasing social intercourse it works great and often irreparable Mischief”
Ordinary people are sociable not from love of company but from inability to endure solitude and their own consciousness; they become sick of themselves and seek intercourse with others for stimulation.
“Ordinary People are sociable and complacent just from the very opposite feeling to Bear others company is easier for them than to Bear their own moreover respect is not paid in this world to that which has real Merit I have said that people are rendered sociable by their inability to endure Solitude that is to say their own Society they become sick of themselves”
Most people possess only a small fraction of humanity and require great numbers of them combined to make up a fair amount, whereas a man of genuine ability is complete in himself—a whole number rather than a fraction.
“such people it may be said possess only a small fraction of humanity in themselves and it requires a great many of them put together to make up a fair amount of it to attain any degree of Consciousness as men a man in the full sense of the word a man par excellance does not represent a fraction but a whole number he is complete in himself”
When people of better class form a society for promoting some noble or ideal aim, the innumerable mob of humanity crowds in like vermin to relieve their boredom, seizing upon the purpose without discrimination, and eventually either destroying it or altering it to mean the opposite of its original aim.
“when men of the better class form a society for promoting some Noble or ideal aim the result almost always is that the innumerable mob of humanity comes crowding into too as it always does everywhere like Vermin their object being to try and get rid of boredom or some other defect of their nature and anything that will affect that they seize upon at once without the slightest discrimination some of them will slip into that Society or push themselves in and then either soon destroy it all together or alter it so much that in the end it comes to have a purpose the exact opposite of that which it had at first”
A man's sociability stands very nearly in inverse ratio to his intellectual value; to say someone is very unsociable is almost tantamount to saying he is a man of great capacity.
“as a general rule it may be said that a man's sociability stands very nearly in inverse ratio to his intellectual value to say that so and so is very unsociable is almost tantamount to saying that he is a man of great capacity”
The love of solitude is not an original characteristic of human nature but rather the result of experience and reflection, which depend on the development of intellectual power and increase with age.
“it cannot be said that the love of solitude is an original characteristic of human nature it is rather the result of experience and reflection and these in their turn depend upon the development of intellectual power and increase with the years”
From their earliest years, men of great intellect feel a perceptible difference between themselves and other people, but it is only gradually with the passage of years that they come to clear understanding of their position; intellectual isolation is then reinforced by actual seclusion in their manner of life.
“Men of great intellect live in the World Without Really belonging to it and so from their earliest years they feel that there is a perceptible difference between them and other people but it is only gradually with the lapse of years that they come to a clear understanding of their position their intellectual isolation is then reinforced by actual seclusion in their manner of Life they let no one approach who is not in some degree emancipated from the prevailing vulgarity”
The education of the young through mutual society is natural: the Bell-Lancaster system shows how older children supervise younger ones, and society provides a 'huge Academy of Learning' suited to youthful education, which is why young people should be diligent students at this natural place of learning.
“there is another aspect of this inverse proportion between age and sociability the way in which conduces to education the younger people are the more in every respect they have to learn and it is just in youth that nature provides a system of mutual education so that mere intercourse with others at that time of life carries instruction with it Human Society from this point of view resembles a huge Academy of Learning on the bell and Lancaster system opposed to the system of Education by means of books and schools as something artificial and contrary to the institutions of nature it is therefore a very suitable Arrangement that in his young Days A man should be very diligent Stu should be a very diligent student at the place of learning provided by Nature herself”
Everything has some drawback; seclusion has small annoyances, but much less than society does; however, one unexpected disadvantage of seclusion is that it makes one physically sensitive to atmospheric changes and temperamentally sensitive to minor incidents, words, and looks.
“but there is nothing in life which has not some drawback niil EST AB Omni part beatum nothing is Happy on every side as Horus says or in the words of an Indian proverb no Lotus without a stalk seclusion which has so many advantages also has its little annoyances and drawbacks which are small however in comparison with those of society hence anyone who is worth much in himself will get on better without other people than with them but amongst the disad ages of seclusion there is one which is not so easy to see as the rest it is this when people remain indoors all day they become physically very sensitive to atmospheric changes so that every little draft is enough to make them ill so with our temper a long course of seclusion makes it so sensitive that the most trivial incidents words or even looks are sufficient to disturb or to Vex and offend us”
Only people of barren and vulgar nature remain as sociable in old age as youth, but they become troublesome to society to which they're no longer suited, whereas formerly they were in great request.
“it is only people of very Barren and vulgar nature who will be just as sociable in their old age as they were in their youth but then they become Troublesome to a society to which they are no longer suited and at most manage to be tolerated whereas they were formerly in great request”
Retirement is both proof and result of being distinguished by possession of meritorious qualities; it shows real wisdom for anyone worth something to limit his requirements to preserve or extend his freedom, admitting others to his intimacy as little as possible.
“retirement is at once a proof and a result of being distinguished by the possession of meritorious qualities it will therefore show real wisdom on the part of anyone who is worth anything in himself to limit his requirements as may be necessary in order to preserve or extend his freedom and since a man must come into some relations with his fellow men to admit them to his intimacy as little as possible”
If aversion to society conquers aversion to being alone, people become accustomed to solitude, hardened to its immediate effects, and settle comfortably without hankering for society, partly because need for others' company is indirect and partly from habituation to solitude's benefits.
“but if aversion to such Society conquers the aversion to being alone they become accustomed to Solitude and hardened to its immediate effects they no longer find Solitude to be such a very bad thing and settle down comfortably to it without any hankering after society and this partly because it is only indirectly that they need others company and partly because they have become become accustomed to the benefits of being alone”
It is an aristocratic feeling at the bottom of the propensity to seclusion and solitude; rascals are always sociable, and the chief sign that a man has nobility in his character is the little pleasure he takes in others' company.
“it is an aristocratic feeling that is at the bottom of this propensity to seclusion and Solitude rascals are always sociable more is the pity and the chief sign that a man has any nobility in his character is the little pleasure he takes in others company”
Maintaining an objective rather than intimate relation to people through emotional restraint protects one from being contaminated or outraged by society; this restricted, entrenched kind of sociability allows one to move among people without close contact with them.
“and to strengthen yourself in the feeling of indifference to their opinion which is the shest way of always practicing a praiseworthy toleration if you do that you will not live so much with other people though you may appear to move amongst them your relation to them will be of a purely OB objective character this precaution will keep you from too close contact with society and therefore secure you against being contaminated or even outraged by it”
Genuine profound peace of mind and perfect tranquility of soul—the highest blessing next to health that the Earth can give—are attained only in solitude and as a permanent mood only in complete retirement from society.
“that genuine profound peace of mind that perfect Tranquility of Soul which next to health is the highest blessing the Earth can give is to be attained only in solitude and as a permanent mood only in complete retirement”
Most society is constituted to offer good profit to anyone who will exchange it for solitude; the balance of exchange is in favor of solitude, not society.
“accordingly most Society is so constituted as to offer a good profit to anyone who will exchange it for Solitude”
To be unsociable is not to care about people and to have enough in oneself to dispense with their company is a great piece of good fortune, because almost all suffering springs from having to do with other people, which destroys the peace of mind that comes second only to health in the elements of happiness.
“to be unsociable is not to care about such people and to have enough in oneself to dispense with the necessity of their company is a Great Piece of Good Fortune because almost all our sufferings spring from having to do with other people and that destroys the peace of mind which I which as I have said comes next after Health in the elements of Happiness”
A man ultimately looks to himself for welfare alone, and at most to his child's welfare; the less necessity there is to come into contact with mankind in business or personal intimacy, the better off one is.
“let me speak plainly however close the bond of friendship love marriage a man ultimately looks to himself to his own welfare alone and at most to his child's too the less necessity there is for you to come into contact with Mankind in general in the relations whether of business or of personal intimacy the better off you are”
As we grow older, time passes more quickly and we want to devote remaining years to intellectual rather than practical matters; with retained mental faculties, accumulated knowledge and experience make study increasingly easy and interesting, and many obscure things become clear.
“and then the years pass more quickly as we become older and we want to devote our remaining time to the intellectual rather than to the Practical side of life for provided that the Mind retains its faculties the amount of knowledge and experience we have acquired together with the facility we have gained in the use of our powers makes it then more than ever easy and interesting to us to pursue the study of any subject a thousand things become clear which were formerly enveloped in obscurity”
Being on friendly or even affectionate terms with solitude is like winning a gold mine—a great fortune—but this is not something everybody can do.
“to be soon on friendly or even affectionate terms with Solitude is like winning a gold mine but this is not something which everybody can do”
Long experience of men teaches us to expect little from them; we find that apart from rare exceptions, we have encountered only defective specimens of human nature, which is advisable to leave in peace; isolation and one's own company have become natural habit.
“from long experience of men we cease to expect much from them we find that on the whole people do not gain by a nearer acquaintance and that apart from a few rare and fortunate exceptions we have come across none but defective specimens of human nature which it is advisable to leave in peace we are no more subject to the ordinary illusions of life and as in individual instances we soon see what a man is made of we seldom feel any inclination to come into closer relations with him finally isolation our own Society has become a habit as it were a second nature”
For one who possesses a unique individuality unlike others and necessarily isolated, old age makes this position less burdensome than in youth because solitude ceases to be a battle and becomes natural habitat.
“this is why anyone who possesses a unique individuality unlike others and therefore necessarily isolated feels that as he becomes older his position is no longer so burdensome as when he was young”
Great minds are the true teachers of humanity, guiding it over the sea of error to the haven of truth and drawing it from dark abysses of barbarous vulgarity into the light of culture and refinement; they live in the world without really belonging to it.
“it is natural for great minds the true teachers of humanity to care little about the constant company of others just as little as the school Master cares for enjoining the gambles of the noisy crowd of boys which surrounds him the mission of these great minds is to guide mankind Over the Sea of error to The Haven of Truth to draw it forth from the dark abysses of a barbarous vulgarity up into the light of culture and refinement Men of great intellect live in the World Without Really belonging to it”
Nature sets very wide differences between man and man in morality and intellect, but society disregards and effaces these natural differences, instead setting up artificial differences in rank and position that are often diametrically opposed to natural order, elevating those nature placed low and depressing the few who stand high.
“while nature sets very wide differences between man and man in respect both of morality and of intellect Society disregards and effaces them or rather it sets up artificial differences in their stad gradations of rank and position which are very often diametrically opposed to those which nature establishes the result of this Arrangement is to elevate Those whom Nature has placed low and to depress the few who stand High”
Society necessarily involves mutual accommodation and restraint as its first condition of existence, and the larger it is, the more insipid its tone becomes; a man is truly himself and free only when alone.
“all Society necessarily involves as the first condition of its existence Mutual accommodation and restraint on the part of its members this means that the larger it is the more insipid will be its tone a man can be himself only so long as he is alone and if he does not love Solitude he will not love freedom for it is only when he is alone that he is really free”
Our mind is veiled in lies just as our body is concealed by clothes; this veil is always present in society and we can only guess at what a man really thinks through it, like guessing at body shape from clothing.
“as our body is concealed by the clothes we wear so our mind is veiled in lies the veil is always there and it is only through it that we can sometimes guess at what a man really thinks just as from his clothes we arrive at the general shape of his body”
Society does not allow us to be what we naturally are; it compels us to shrivel up or alter our shape for the sake of harmony, requiring severe self-denial as we forfeit much of ourselves to become like other people.
“it compels us for the sake of Harmony to shrivel up or even alter our shape altogether intellectual conversation whether grave or humorous is only fit for intellectual Society it is downright abhorent to Ordinary People to please whom it is absolutely necessary to be commonplace and dull this demands an act of severe self-denial we have to Forfeit 34s of ourselves in order to become like other people”
Society is like a fire; the wise man warms himself at proper distance from it, not coming too close like the fool who, getting scorched, runs away and shivers in solitude, loudly complaining the fire burns.
“Society is in this respect like a fire the wise man warming himself at a proper distance from it not coming too close like the fool who on getting scorched runs away and shivers in solitude loud in his complaint that the fire burns”
The young should early be trained to bear being left alone, for it is a source of happiness and peace of mind rather than something to be feared.
“the young should early be trained to Bear being left alone for it is a source of happiness and peace of mind”
A man of intellect is like a soloist performing alone on a piano, which is a little orchestra in itself; such a man is a little world in himself and produces alone the effects that various instruments produce together, through the unity of his own consciousness.
“a man of intellect is like an artist who gives a concert without any help from anyone else playing on a single instrument a piano say which is a little Orchestra in itself such a man is a little world in himself and the effect produced by various instruments together he produces single-handed in the unity of his own Consciousness like the piano he has no place in a symphony he is a soloist and performs by himself in Solitude”
Ordinary society is like an orchestra composed solely of Russian horns, each having only one note; the music comes from each note arriving at the right moment. A single Russian horn alone would be intolerable—a precise illustration of the monotonous effect of most people's minds.
“ordinary Society is in this respect very like the kind of music to be obtained from an orchestra composed solely of Russian horns each horn has only one note and the music is produced by each note coming in just at the right moment in the monotonous sound of a single horn you have a precise illustration of the effect of most people's minds how often there seems to be only one thought there and no room for any other”
The privilege of old age can only be enjoyed if a man possesses a certain amount of intellect; it is appreciated most where there is real mental power but in some degree by everyone.
“for as a matter of fact this very genuine privilege of old age is one which can be enjoyed only if a man is possessed of a certain amount of intellect it will be appreciated most of all where there is real mental power but in some degree by everyone”
Though the world contains many bad things, the worst thing in it is society itself—a statement even a sociable Frenchman like Voltaire acknowledged, admitting there are crowds of people not worth talking to.
“hence though the world contains many things which are thoroughly bad the worst thing in it is society even voler that sociable Frenchman was obliged to admit that there are everywhere crowds of people not worth talking to”
The cynics renounced all private property to attain bliss from having nothing to trouble them; renouncing society with the same object is the wisest thing a man can do.
“The cynics renounced all private property in order to attain the Bliss of having nothing to trouble them and to renounce Society with the same object is the wisest thing a man can do”
The porcupine fable illustrates human society: porcupines are cold and prickly, so when they come together for warmth they prick each other; they must maintain distance such that they warm each other with body heat but avoid pricking each other with their spines.
“this this is shophow is wellknown parable of the porcupines right porcupines are prickly so they get but they're in they're cold and so when they try to come together they prick each other so they move apart they get cold again and so they find that they have to stand just close enough together that they can warm each other with their body heat but not so close that they stab each other with their with their prickles and he says that's that's a metaphor for Society among human beings we are uh flinty and prickly but we do need each other to some degree”
People gather for warmth both literally and mentally when cold—they crowd together physically for body heat and intellectually for mental warmth—but a man with great intellectual warmth in himself has no need for such external resources.
“on cold days people manage to get some warmth by crowding together and you can warm your mind in the same way by bringing it into cont with others but a man who has a great deal of intellectual warmth in himself will stand no need of such resources”
Solitude is the original and natural state of man—like a second Adam, he is as happy as his nature will allow in solitude, though humans are born into society with parents and siblings rather than alone.
“Solitude is the original and natural state of man where like another Adam he is as happy as his nature will allow it's an interesting suggestion that Adam solitary Adam prior to the creation of Eve is the sort of Ideal perfection of the human race”
The strongest impulse in old age—the love of a woman's society—has little or no effect, and the sexless condition of old age lays the foundation for a certain self-sufficiency that gradually absorbs all desire for others' company.
“the strongest impulse the love of a woman's Society has little or no effect it is the sexless condition of old age which lays the foundation of a a certain self-sufficiency and that gradually absorbs all desire for others company”
In large societies, vulgarity reigns supreme, as the mechanism of equality of rights leads to equality of pretensions while inequality of capacity produces corresponding disparity of actual power.
“whereas as soon as it is at all numerous vulgarity Reigns Supreme I can kind of see where nche got some of these ideas from in schopenhauer yes what offends a great intellect in society is the equality of Rights leading to equality of pretensions which everyone enjoys while at the same same time inequality of capacity means a corresponding disparity of Social Power”
Being sparing with food is a means to bodily health; being sparing with men is a means to mental tranquility. The diet of food restores body health, while the diet of avoiding people restores soul tranquility.
“Bernardine Des s has the very excellent and pertinent remark that to be sparing in regard to food food is a means of Health in regard to society a means of Tranquility the diet of food restores the health of the body and that of men the Tranquility of the soul”
Intellectual conversation, whether grave or humorous, is only fit for intellectual society and is downright abhorrent to ordinary people, requiring severe self-denial to be commonplace and dull enough to please them.
“intellectual conversation whether grave or humorous is only fit for intellectual Society it is downright abhorent to Ordinary People to please whom it is absolutely necessary to be commonplace and dull this demands an act of severe self-denial”
A thousand illusions and follies are overcome in old age; the active years of life are gone, leaving no more expectations, plans, or intentions; one's generation has passed away and a new race looks upon one as outside its sphere of activity.
“a thousand Illusions and Follies are overcome the active years of life are in most cases gone a man has no more expectations or plans or intentions the generation to which he belonged has passed away and a new race has sprung up which looks upon him as essentially outside its sphere of activity”
Those fond of society should note that deficiency of quality in individual companions may be compensated by an increase in quantity; one clever man's company may be sufficient, but with ordinary people one needs many of them to create any advantage.
“however those who are fond of society from time to time May profit by this simily and lay it down as a general rule that deficiency of quality in those we meet may to some extent be compensated by an increase in quantity one man's company may be quite enough if he is clever but where you have only ordinary people to deal with it is advisable to have a great many of them so that some Advantage May acre by letting them all work together”
It is often said that a man who lives alone doesn't like society, but this is like saying a man doesn't like walking in the evening in the Bondi Forest just because he doesn't like walking; the statement confuses the act with particular conditions.
“Dei that is it is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like Society it's often like saying of a man that he doesn't like walking under the pretext that he doesn't enjoy walking in the evening in the Bondi Forest”
In the throng and press of real life, the feeling of exclusive self-importance soon shrivels to nothing with constant painful diminishment and denial.
“a feeling which in the thr WR and press of real life soon shrivels up to nothing getting at every step a painful Dante diminishment denial”