The case

Moments that many regard as the height of happiness are, for some philosophers, merely fleeting episodes of pleasure. Once they fade, the restless mind begins reaching again for new goals, experiences and distractions.

Source: «There’s Something Better Than Happiness”, The New York Times, Mark Edmundson, Guest Essay, September 7, 2026.

The commentary

For Schopenhauer, many of the experiences commonly associated with happiness – travelling, golden beaches, parties or even cultural pursuits – can become temporary remedies against pain and boredom. Yet, once these pleasures have been exhausted, tedium inevitably returns. The mind then resumes its endless search for new objects of desire as well as new distractions. Schopenhauer advises us to find something that genuinely engages the intellect, providing a safeguard against idleness.

Simone de Beauvoir offers a different but related perspective. Through what she calls being-in-itself, one becomes a kind of replica of an established type, seeking happiness through successful conformity, which is very much like the kind of happiness experienced when spending every day at the beach. As an alternative, Beauvoir advocates being-for-itself: The freedom to experiment, choose and continually create oneself. Such a person may not necessarily be happy, but would embrace her freedom and, with it, the possibility of a life endowed with meaning.

Nietzsche, meanwhile, evokes the archetype of the “last man”: a person who neither goes all out nor strives for great returns, but lives for tiny satisfactions.

Perhaps, then, all three philosophers caution us against becoming too comfortable with happiness itself. A better choice would be to seek meaning rather than pleasure, with the occasional respite of a sun-washed beach.