Hey 👋🏼

I know that most listeners don’t tune in to How to Take Over the World for philosophical musings, but this week’s episode about Horatio Nelson had me asking (and trying to answer) the question: What is the purpose of life?

Life is about being happy… right?

In 1780, the English philosopher Jeremy Bethan published An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation and introduced the world to his idea of utilitarianism.

His basic premise was that “…it is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong.”

And the greatest good was determined, fairly straightforwardly, by happiness as measured by the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do.”

I think this makes some amount of intuitive sense to most people. It is at least inoffensive: Few are shocked by the idea that life's purpose is happiness. We would like to be happy. We would like to feel good and not feel bad.

The problem is, few of us act like happiness is the chief pursuit of our life.

If you were to optimize your life for pleasure, you would probably be a homeless surf bum on the beach. Instead, you’re trying to make partner (or whatever).

We spend at least as much time worrying about the expectations of our family and friends, our relative power and prestige, and the achievement of career goals.

Nietzsche had Bentham in mind when he scoffed that “Man does not strive for happiness; only the Englishman does that.”

So if life isn’t about being happy… then what is it about?

Your life is a work of art