Chapter I: Part I: Happiness as the Aim of Life

I. _Is a Guide to Happiness Possible? And if Possible, is it
Desirable?_

Objections to the Pursuit of Happiness as a Low and Selfish
Aim.――Answered by the Fact that we Cannot do Otherwise than Pursue
it.――Enjoyment is not a Sin, but a Duty.――No One Can Impart
Happiness who does not Possess it Himself.――It is Desirable,
therefore, that Men be Taught How to become Happy.――Nor is this a
Commendation of Selfishness, pp. 9-14

II. _The Definition of Happiness._

Happiness is not Pleasure, but is Built Upon it.――Explanation of
Pleasure and Pain in Sensation.――Happiness Dependent on the Will
and Self-consciousness.――Difference Between Self-feeling and
Self-seeking.――Happiness is the Increasing Consciousness of
Self.――It may be Derived from Other than Pleasurable
Feelings.――The Yearning for Joy is a Cry of Nature.――It is the
Secret of Evolution, pp. 15-20

III. _The Relative Value of Pleasures._

All Pleasures are Inseparably Connected.――The Error of Religions and
Philosophies which Condemn Any.――Escape from Pain the Lowest Form
of Pleasure.――Indifference to Pleasure a Sign of Mental
Failing.――Contentment is not Happiness.――Happiness means Expansion
and Growth.――Practical Difficulty in Comparing Pleasures.――The
Hierarchy of Enjoyments.――The Blunders of Asceticism.――The
Equality of Pleasures, as Such, pp. 21-25

IV. _The Distribution of Happiness._

Relation of Happiness to the Means of Happiness.――Law of the “Rate
of Pleasure.”――The Extremes of the Social Order Equally
Unfavorable.――Civilization does not Increase Personal
Enjoyment.――Social Evils Diminish, but Personal Sufferings
Increase.――The Motive of the True Civilization.――Women Have Less
Happiness than Men.――Partly through their Physical Nature, Partly
through Social Impositions.――Pernicious, Legal and Ecclesiastical
Restrictions.――The True and False Education of Women.――Man will
Profit by Woman’s Improvement.――Childhood and Youth not the
Happiest Periods of Life.――Enjoyment Should Increase with Mental
and Physical Vigor.――Old Age is not the Period of Wisdom.――Spurious
Enjoyments of the Aged. pp. 26-35

V. _Principles of a Self-Education for the Promotion of One’s Own
Happiness._

Happiness is the Reward of Effort.――The Greatest Efficiency is not
the Greatest Happiness.――The Principles of a Self-Education:――I.
The Multiplication of the Sources of Enjoyment――What these Sources
Are――The Avoidance of Profitless Pain――The Value of Knowledge――The
True End of Culture――Falsity of “Contentment with Little.”――The
Kind of Knowledge Required:――1. Of Our Bodily Constitution――2. Of
the Elements of the Sciences――3. Of the Nature of the Mind――4. Of
the Principles of Business――5. Of the Value of Evidence.――II. The
Maintenance of a Sensibility to Pleasure.――The Criteria of
Pleasurable Sensations.――The Anatomy of Ennui.――III. The Search
for Variety of Impressions.――Variety Necessary to High
Pleasure.――Pleasure must be Remitted.――The Individual should Seek
Novelty.――The Evil Effects of Habit.――IV. The Proper Proportion
Between Desire and Pleasure.――The Wisdom of Counting the
Cost.――Precepts for the Regulation of Desire.――V. Make all
Pleasures a Part of Happiness.――All Pleasures are
Excellent.――Error of the Contrary Doctrine.――All Pleasures should
be Brought into Relation.――The Bond of Sense to what is Beyond
Sense.――The Reality of the Ideal.

STROWINGS pp. 36-56