“Yes, if you happen to be interested in philosophy and good at it, but not otherwise – but so does bricklaying. Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.”

— Bertrand Russell

When asked "Does philosophy contribute to happiness?" (SHM 76), as quoted in The quotable Bertrand Russell (1993), p. 149
Attributed from posthumous publications

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

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Bertrand Russell562

logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and politi… 1872–1970

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer

Source: The Joys of Love

“I don't feel the slightest interest in the next world; I think it's here. And I think anything good that you're going to do, you should do for other people here and not so you can try to have a happy time in the next world.”

Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) film, stage, and television actress

“Be happy -- if you're not even happy, what's so good about surviving?”

Tom Stoppard book Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Source: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

“As an artist, you're never happy with anything you do. It's part of the process. You're never really happy. I'm certainly not. That's a good thing. It means you're always striving to do better. You hope the next piece will be better.”

Kate Bush (1958) British recording artist; singer, songwriter, musician and record producer

Source: As quoted in "In conversation with Kate Bush" by Elio Iannacci in MacLeans (28 November 2016) https://www.macleans.ca/culture/arts/in-conversation-with-kate-bush/

“A good deal of Paradise Lost strikes one as being almost as mechanical as bricklaying.”

F. R. Leavis (1895–1978) British literary critic

Revaluation: Tradition and Development in English Poetry (1936; repr. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1964)

“Happiness is the purpose of humans so it must need to be for the good of others otherwise one’s happiness could hurt many others.”

Zaman Ali (1993) Pakistani philosopher

"Humanity", Ch.VII "Humanity: A Way Forward", Part IX

“Yes, it was riveting. Despite everything, you knew there was goodness there. Something to believe in. Something which is good, pure and untainted by anything.”

Pete Doherty (1979) English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist

On meeting Carl Barat, The Guardian, January 2003.
Carl Barat

“I think it's so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary--you're happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.”

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986) American artist

“Don't be like anybody else. Be different. Then you can make a
contribution. Otherwise, you just echo something; you're just a reflection.”

Hugh Nibley (1910–2005) Religious scholar

“Happiness has got to be paid for. You're paying for it, Mr. Watson–paying because you happen to be too much interested in beauty. I was too much interested in truth; I paid too.”

Aldous Huxley book Brave New World

Variant: One can’t have something for nothing. Happiness has got to be paid for. You’re paying for it, Mr. Watson - paying because you happen to be too much interested in beauty.
Source: Brave New World

“Yes, if you happen to be interested in philosophy and good at it, but not otherwise – but so does bricklaying. Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.”

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Bertrand Russell562

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