Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual

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More About This Book

Overview

We are completely satisfied with nothing

There is little correlation between the circumstances of people's lives and how happy they are.

This is the repair manual we should have been handed at birth

When you ask people abouttheir most cherished values in life, "happiness" is always at the top of the list. However, unhappiness does not seem to be the exceptional order to be happy, we first have to battle ourselves.

Happiness is an obligation—to yourself and to others

Not only do we have a right to be happy, we have an obligation to be happy. Our happiness has an effect on the lives of everyone around us—it provides them with a positive environment in which to thrive and to be happy themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Los Angeles Times
Prager's latest book challenges readers to realize that they—not any outside force—are the greatest obstacle to happiness.
USA Today
...a cogent and thoughtful examination on why human beings have a moral obligation to be happy.
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Wall Street Journal
...[Prager] has an astonishing ability to state simple truths we hadn't heard articulated before, at least not so clearly, in a way that makes their truthfulness immediately and powerfully obvious.
Library Journal
A popular lecturer, Los Angeles radio personality, and former TV talk-show host, Prager has developed a surprising following in today's soundbite media culture. Supporters praise his earnest tone, nonideological opinions, and insistence that his audience think deeply about serious issues. Detractors accuse him of sloppy thinking, intellectual pretentions, and a kind of benevolent, patronizing conservatism. Both sides of Prager are in evidence in his latest offering (after Think a Second Time, ReganBooks, 1995), in which he uses the pursuit of happiness as a central motif but generally instructs in the modern art of self-improvement. The 31 short chapters, with titles like "Find the Positive," "Seeing Yourself as a Victim," and "Psychotherapy and Religion," are more like separate essays, often disconnected and occasionally repetitive. But taken individually, they are cogent, complete, and preach a nonreligious yet morally guided moderation that should appeal across a wide range of patron groups. A fine choice for all public libraries where self-help books are popular.Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060987350
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 12/28/1998
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 192
  • Sales rank: 71,012
  • Product dimensions: 5.31 (w) x 8.00 (h) x 0.43 (d)

Meet the Author

Dennis Prager is one of the most listened to and respected media personalities in America. He has a nationally syndicated radio talk show, is a bestselling author of four books, writes a syndicated column, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Commentary. A true Renaissance man, he has traveled to a hundred countries, lectured in Russian in Russia and Hebrew in Israel, taught Russian and Jewish history at Brooklyn College, conducted orchestras, and created the Internet-based Prager University. He has lectured in forty-five states and on all seven continents. 

Read an Excerpt


Happiness Is a Moral Obligation


We tend to think that we owe it to ourselves to be as happy as we can be. And this is true. But happiness is far more than a personal concern. It is also a moral obligation.

After one of my talks on happiness, a woman in the audience stood up and said, "I only wish my husband had come to this talk." (He had chosen to attend a talk on business instead.) She explained that he was the unhappy one in their relationship and that much as she loved him, it was not easy being married to an unhappy person.

This woman enabled me to put into words what I had been searching for--the altruistic, in addition to the obvious personal, reasons to take happiness seriously. I told the woman and the audience that she was right; her husband should have attended the talk because he had a moral obligation to his daily partner in life to be as happy as he could be.

Upon a moment's reflection, this becomes obvious. We owe it to our husband or wife, our fellow workers, our children, our friends, indeed to everyone who comes into our lives, to be as happy as we can be. This does not mean acting unreal, and it certainly does not mean refraining from honest and intimate expressions of our feelings to those closest to us. But it does mean that we owe it to others to work on our happiness. We do not enjoy being around others who are usually unhappy. Those who enter our lives feel the same way. Ask a child what it was like to grow up with an unhappy parent, or ask parents what pain they suffer if they have an unhappy child (of any age).

There is a second reason why happiness is a moral obligation. In general, people act more decently whenthey are happy. The chapter on seeking goodness explains the connection between goodness and happiness at length. It will suffice here to answer this: Do you feel more positively disposed toward other people and do you want to treat other people better when you are happy or when you are unhappy?

There is yet a third reason. I once asked a deeply religious man if he considered himself a truly pious person. He responded that while he aspired to be one, he felt that he fell short in two areas. One of those areas, he said, was his not being a happy enough person to be considered truly pious.

His point was that unhappy religious people reflect poorly on their religion and on their Creator. He was right; in fact, unhappy religious people pose a real challenge to faith. If their faith is so impressive, why aren't these devoted adherents happy? There are only two possible reasons: either they are not practicing their faith correctly, or they are practicing their faith correctly and the religion itself is not conducive to happiness. Most outsiders assume the latter reason. Unhappy religious people should therefore think about how important being happy is--if not for themselves, then for the sake of their religion. Unhappy, let alone angry, religious people provide more persuasive arguments for atheism and secularism than do all the arguments of atheists.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 18 )

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Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 18 Customer Reviews

  • Posted June 21, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    9781400034727 9780060987091

    A book each and every person should read during their lifetime - sooner than later!

    Dennis Prager is an inspirational thinker, writer, and speaker. His clarity of thought, illustrated through his writing, simplifies complex issues and makes them graspable to all people. Each of his chapters on happiness will cause readers to reflect upon how their own thoughts and actions may be hindering their path to contentment and inner peace. Not only does Dennis Prager stimulate self-examination through his writing, his arguments are punctuated with real-life stories and examples, and he provides concrete steps one may take to increase their happiness. It is truly a must-read for every person, happy, sad, or indifferent, to enrich their life.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 4, 2007

    Recommended Reading for EVERY Adult out there!

    I loved this book. It should be recommended reading for every adult out there. Even the ones who think they know everything! Dennis Prager has very good points of view and thinks everything out. He even show in the book that he is not perfect and has even been unhappy earlier on in life! Wnderful reading!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 11, 2003

    Required Reading

    This book should be required reading for every High School senior. Would solve a lot of issues prior to leaving school. Sadly the teachers union would never approve of it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 15, 2012

    Helpful

    Simple, easy concepts that are logical. Excellent read for my psychotherapy patients who need help getting happiness or even contentment back into their lives.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 6, 2011

    a great book to discuss with a loved one

    This a a great motivating book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 8, 2004

    Good, but should I have expected less?

    I enjoyed this book, but it¿s not exactly what I expected. He does argue from every conceivable angle that our expectations will set us up for disappointment, so I guess I asked for it. Somehow I managed to put ¿The Pursuit of¿ in front of the title because I tend to believe that happiness is a by-product of our service to humanity, but the book is actually about seeking happiness for one self. Mr. Prager does emphasize how we tend to seek happiness in vain through our quests for self-indulgence, and suggests that we seek meaning in our lives. He¿s very logical and reasonable, even if one doesn¿t agree with him on every count, but I don¿t find him to be particularly profound. I agree with him strongly on some points, but there is nothing new in his writing that would have me reconsider my own philosophy, or reflect on how his viewpoint might reflect a truth in my own experience.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

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