Simon Critchley, in action

Philosopher Simon Critchley writes a thought-provoking reflection on happiness on the “Happy Days” blog on nytimes.com. The ancient Greek proverb above is his launching point into thinking about happiness, death, and the prospect of an afterlife.

In short, Critchley explicates the proverb to talk about “my” happiness as something centered in others, in the lives of those outside me, and that “my” happiness cannot be considered as a whole until after I’m dead-and-gone. Thus, we can’t really consider our own happiness without in some way thinking about our own afterlife. An excerpt:

But why should we assume that the question of the afterlife must always be answered with reference to me? Isn’t that just a teensy bit selfish? What is so important about my afterlife? Why can’t I believe in the afterlife of others without believing in my own?

A skeptic might object that I am simply dodging the question. Of course, they…