A critical Analysis

 Introduction
 Summary
 Literary Devices
 Eastern and Western Philosophy
 Themes
By Asma Khan
compassion of a philosopher. The stream of his brilliant mind ideas make the
core of this essay. With the rebirth of China and India in recent decades, his
thoughts might appear a bit outdated, but the essay grips the reader’s
attention like a vice.
 He talks about '' Well's time machine '' and
its right use,and the difference in the
thinking of a man while in Europe and in
Asia. Then the return of '' George
Washington'' as a ghost on earth ,then
preferring to become the President of China
with his same perspective of love for peace
spotlessly clean life and love for
libertarian values.
 Then Russell draws an outline of Western
civilization and explains how Europe
excluding Russians and Britians evolved
with the advancement in technology but
then World War 1 took it all away.
However by that time China stood still
although it was far behind Europe.
 In the next Paragraph Russell
talks about the philosopher
Confucius who lived in China
Before Christ and talked
about his teachings.
 Then he sketched a contrast
between Confusius ideas and
Greek and Roman ideas .

 Following that he talks

about another great
philospher Lao Tzu who
spread the idea of returing
good to evil.
 He also mentioned how his
idea resemble that of Bible
 Russell explains
further how chinese
believe in learing and
love while Westrens
believe in voilence
 Russell finally comes to a resolution
and war.
that chinese believe that being happy
in life means spreading love and
having fun ,On the other hand
Europeans make wars and strive for
supermacy over others which is their
idea of happiness
 SUMMARY
 Russell talks about “Well’s Time Machine” was a unique
short novel that was a hit with readers of those days. According
to it People could go back and forth in time to see the past and
the future and the changes made .
but Russell is off the view that changes in the world can be better
understood by travelling the world in the present.
 A European traveler setting his feet in city like New York in
America would witness that clearly America had raced ahead,
leaving the lost war-torn Europe behind. But,that is not all
Russell felt,that to find its feet again, Europe must rid itself out
of the economic burdens,and plan its growth.
 If the same traveler went to Asia, he would have a dramatically
different view. India was very backward then, mired in poverty,
illiteracy, superstition, and primitive social practices like the
scourge of untouchability.Modern education was absent with
no open doors to evolution which hasn't been changed so he
would conclude that India still lived in middle ages.
 China, would, emerge somewhat better to the traveler. It was
backward, but still had seen some light of civilization. It would
appear to be in the eighteenth century about a century behind
the western world.
 Russell’s thoughts return to George Washington, the first
President of America, who believed in clean and spotless life in all
fields of life .America strayed from his path after his death. There
was partisanship, immoral public behavior, and a general decay in
decency of life. Russell felt that if George would return to earth as
a ghost he would be sadden and find peace and solace in China
because of his identical aspirations.
 China would offer George Washington’s wandering soul some
solace, because in this land, he would discover that people cherish
life, liberty, and happiness , everything that he faught for .

 Americans during the War of Independence led by

George Washington had almost identical aspirations as
the Chinese.
Russell chuckles while imagining that his
fascination for Chinese values could urge him
to become the President of China instead.
Russell proceeds to draw the contours of western civilization.
 In Russell’s view western civilization embraces North and South
America, Europe excluding Russia, and the independent powers.
obviously, because America consider her to be quite advanced of this
civilizational grouping. For an observer comparing western and
eastern civilizations,
 The western society underwent spectacular advancement in all walks
of life in 19th century, thanks to technology. All these inventions
brought extreme comforts to life.
 Sadly, such comfort was stolen from Europe by the Great War. The
deadly war drove their hope away. They yearned for the good old days
with no hope to return. Great Britain did not suffer as much as the
people in Europe did. America then got back on her feet almost
unharmed.
By this time, China had stood still and unchanged for
nearly one and half centuries. It was not buffeted by
the winds of change that blew across the western
civilization areas.
So Russell gets
confused with the
question that how
advance in
technology is
associated with the
idea of happiness ???
Russell talks about the Chinese legend Confusius,
Confucius, brought fairness in society with the idea of
holding on to the values ,simplicity and responsibility
which made people worship him like a Saint.His
teaching kept Chinese together for decades.Glued by
Confucius values, the fabric of the Chinese society has
stood against , the deadly Mongol and Manchu
invasions and many more disruptive influences. Art,
literature, culture and all other hallmarks of a vibrant
society were visible in China for centuries.During his
time the Chinese were stuck in wars for a long a time.
Later they expanded to what China is now,but now its
only the race of supremacy that has strayed China from
its way!
There was a contrast between the Greeks and Roman and
Confucius idea.
 The Greeks and the Romans believed in Society’s constant
Evolutionwhile Confucius held a very different view.According
to him, the Chinese ancestors were wiser in keeping their people
happy. Therefore, instead of getting attracted to the modern
values Chinese should stick to the values of their elders

Russell felt it to be a delusion .

However, Scramble for progress and
change would have been very
unsettling for the society, said
Confucius with great conviction.
So, Russell thinks that the Confucian
value system have its strength to
survive the winds of change and
therefore it should be appreciated.
 The Confucian teachings lack the
supernatural references but he urged his
people to follow certain ethical practices that
were simple requiring no rituals. In this regard
Confucian teachings stand in sharp contrast to
the prescriptions of Christianity.The Church
teachings are detailed and lay great burden on
its followers whereas Confucian advises are far
simpler and ‘doable’ for ordinary people.
 Moderation was his hallmark !He simply asked
people to be fair in normal life as well as in
wars and didn’t want his people to be exploited
for the sake of doing good.He talked a lot about
the importance of virtue but he did not pushed
his followers and told them that affections can
override duties so one should not feel guilty.
Russell further mentioned about another historical
figure Lao-Tze.

His teachings were known as Taoism. His followers

were advised to do good towards evil , Thus bringing
down the idea of an eye for an eye.Lao-Tze said that,

“To the good I would be good; to the not good I

would also be good, in order to make them good.
With the faithful I would keep faith; with the
unfaithful I would also keep; in order that they may
become faithful. Even if a man is bad, how can it be
right to cast him off? Requite injury with kindness”
 Taoism is there, but only among the
lower rungs of Chinese society. The
Emperor found solace in Taoism and
became indolent. He left the control
over the justice matters
 On the other hand the governors in
China were enthused by Confucius’s
emphasis on simplicity, benevolence,
courtesy and self-control and followed
it for the maximum benefit of the
public.Gradually, Lao-Tze faded from
China for it nearly killed the concept of
justice, but Confucius practices
prevailed due to their universal appeal .
According to Russell, we have two sets of morality before us(Westerns ). The first is the
set of ethical and moral values we preach, but don’t follow. The other is what we practice, but
make little effort to preach.
In the west, the values held dear in heart, Chinese practiced what they preached.
considered evident for the betterment  they held on to the teachings of
were not in the routine . Confucius which were simple and easy
 Christianity took mysticism and to follow.
philosophy beyond human  It did not add mysticism to it but had a
understanding. touch of hummanity.
 Christianity taught the rules which were  Therefore the accpeted and Confucius
difficult to practice. Therefore, there which made their society better.
always existed a huge difference
between their preaching, and their
doings.
 The royalty picked what they liked ,like
the ideas of 'render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s '
Chinese believe that violence and fight
should be when there is no other way.
 Their fights are only defensive for they do
not like blood shed in any field of life.
 They have the love for learning and
believe in earning success by reaching the
merits, for education is their virtue.
 They are simple .Their curriculum was
outdated at first but Later, few Chinese
students got to study ‘western’ subjects
like Chemistry, Geography, astronomy
etc. and were greatly thrilled but they
kept intact with their traditional
values.
In contrary to Chinese are Westerns
who fight for what they want.
 Feudal Europe, accorded high status
to people by their birth, depriving
citizens of low and middle class of
opportunity to compete for civil
service posts through merit.
 They kept on evolving so bad that
they let go of their ancestral strings.
Therefore
Russel is worried Imagining that how long
Chinese old values will remain intact with
the strive for the advancement.?
 Russell finally draw s the conclusion about the difference between the Eastren and Westren
idea of happiness
 Chinese ,due to laziness or good nature ,strive
to enjoy life with little appetite for aggression
to bring enemies to submission.
 he Chinese toil in the fields, as hard as they toil as
wage-earners for others. But, they detest the
activity-rooted life style of the Europeans.They
relax and do not work during good times to build
up stocks of grain for bad days. They appreciate
art,Chat, have hobbies , or just have fun, when
there is no work
 westerners crave for power. They love to
dominate others and Nature. Building a strong
state with iron-clad defense and a loyal bureaucracy
helps to subdue defiance. Their technologies help to
tame Nature to meet their needs.To Westerns,
Chinese life style is too slothful. In contrast, they
love a life of incessant activity, no matter for what
end.
 They think that East corrupts a Westerner as he
loses his active sprightly habits. Russell, however,
holds a contrary view. He feels that being
somewhat laid-back may not be that bad after
all.People in the West might accomplish something
by being restless.
But, then Russell thinks that ,does this
extra gain ,yield some real value to life?
 The West excels in technology making new types of
automobiles, and ammunition etc.On one hand their
inventions brought progress in life and on the other
hand they brought destruction.So,Western contribution
to mankind is a double-edged sword. It heals as much
as it hurts!
 Christanity made westerns believe that they are born
sinners and have to strive to find redemption and gives
them a long list of rules, which are hard to follow.
 Their idea of spirituality is to stick firmly to their
religious gurus and this takes away their essence of
pleasures of life and these gurus interfare in their
simple lives.
 To settle their arguments westerns have no middle
grounds due to which their arguments end bitter .To
settle disagreements they use force and duel leads to
very bloody devastating
wars.Resulting in ruthless battle
scars.
 China could not produce automobiles or arms
but it did not venture out to conquer and
colonize other lands. China did not experience
frenzied progress, but did not go through the
pain of wars either. It became a land
happiness.The vast section of people were far
from being rich, but were inwardly happy.
 The Chinese do not engage in any purposeless
activity unless it yields some tangible end result.
 The Chinese do not believe interfering in life of
Fellows.Their way of leading a moral life has so
many positiveness, such as respecting the
parents, being loving towards the children,
showing kindness to the poor, venerating the
teachers, being courteous to others etc. etc.
Which are simple to follow for entire life.
 Chinese settle their arguments
with mutual discussions
without anyone being
humiliated.Which is even
followed in army and even
their wars are resolved with
less bloodshed.
Russel conclude his essay with the idea that world can be free of wars if we
all follow Chinese ethics and handle everything with tolerance and patience
but then he shows his fear that with the fast attraction of Chinese towards
West , the idea of peace may fall into fatal danger
 Literary Devices

What do you mean by Literary Devices ?

Defitiniton
“Literary Devices refers to the typical structures used by writers
in their works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to
the readers. When employed properly, the different literary
devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze
a literary work.''
 LACK OF SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE

 Russel in his writings avoid symbolic and

metaphorical language , as it is said that his style is
simple and clear.
 The subject matter of his essays may be very
difficult but his manner of expression is so lucid
and simple that even a layman can understand him
without any special difficulty. It is a rare privilege
which only few prose masters enjoy. The precision
and clarity which Russell’s prose style possesses
are very rare in the bulk of English prose.
 To him similes and metaphors are the matter of
necessity , these are to be used only when there is a
dire necessity of using them.
Allusion
Definition
“Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person , place , thing or
idea of historical , cultural , literary or political significance'' .
 It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers , it is
just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to posses
enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a
text.

Examples of Illusion from the Essay

1) George Washington = reference to a person who worked for the
freedom and the first President of America, who ruled the country
from 1789 to 1797. He was revered for his leadership, administrative
skills, love for peace in statecraft, spotlessly clean personal life, love
for libertarian values, and dignified conduct in office. He had willed
that the slaves under him would be freed on his death.
 Confucius = Confucius was a chinese teacher , editor , politician and
philosopher of the spring and autumn period of Chinese history. 771 – 476
Bc .
 Mongols and Monchus = they were Chinese rulers .
 Lionel Giles = he was a British scholar and translator.
 Duke of She = Shen Zhuliang , duke of Ye or duke of She was a general and
prime minister of the kingdom of Chu during the spring and autumn period of
ancient China.
 Lao – Tze = was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer.
 Sermon on the Mount = The sermon on the mount is a collection of sayings
and teachings of Jesus.
 Mormonism = a religious moment that was founded by Joseph Smith in
1830.
 Outline

1. Philosophy of Happiness by Russell

2. Philosophy of Morality by Russel
3. Eastern and western Philosophy
4. Philosophy of balance
 In this particular essay writer has compared the concept of happiness of
China with that of West.
 According to him, happiness of Chinese was not in perfection but in
stability. They always aimed for inner peace. They found their happiness
in little achievements. Their success was in following their own norms
and teachings of Confucius. Gradually their stability lead them to success.
 Chinese strive to derive enjoyment from life. If it is not necessary to
work, they will not work. They would rather spend their time in
amusement activities.
 Whereas west worked for perfection. They related happiness with
richness and success. So they worked for it and lacked inner peace and
stability.
 They do not enjoy amusement activities. They work even if extra
work is not required.
So by this essay it’s clear that Russell was in favor of Chinese
concept of happiness and it seems that he was impressed by
the Chinese way of living.
 Russell's philosphy of morality
 According to Russell morality is of two types. The one we preach
but do not follow and the other we follow but do not preach.
 But writer is of the view that one should follow what he preaches or
he should preach what he follows.
 This is the reason Russell considered Chinese as the best in their
code of conduct because they preached what they have been
following from decades
 Although Chinese do not follow many rules as Christians do but
they respect humanity.
 For example they settle their matters with reason. They try not to
end up their argumentation by humiliating the opponent.

Russell thinks that Christianity has define the codes which are
difficult to follow compelety.So its not bad that Chinese follow
their codes and lead their lives in a balance manner
 EASTERN AND WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
 world get more connected we are introduced to the perspective we find hard to
understand , the influence of great thinkers and movements ,in the areas we grew up
have greatly shaped our world view making it hard to see the other side.
 Some bash that western philosophy Is to egocentric or lack spirituality or empathy
when it comes to Eastern it is complained that it is too vague or mambo jumbo so the
question is

which one is it ? which one is better ?

Westren Philosophy
In west the idea of individualism, the idea of freedom and natural laws is promoted
where every man has the right of God given life, liberty and pursuit of happiness but
the negative side of that is many Westerns are selfish and Narcissistic only interested
in their own personal growth.
 Eastern philosophy
On the other side Eastern Philosophy is all about unity and being a part of a great
or whole every thing is connected I.e you, me , the trees the birds the stars and the
galaxies are all the part of the cosmic one the most important characteristic of the
Eastern point of view one could always say the essence of it is the:
' The Awareness of unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events’
The experience of all phenomenon in the world are the manifestation of a
basic oneness all things are seen as interdependent and inseparable parts of
this cosmic whole as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality '
-Frits Jao Capra The Tao of Physics
This leaves us with a warm feeling of satisfaction and comfort knowing that you
are a part of something greater than yourself but it can also lead to excessive
conformity where pressure is more likely to take place as the culture pushes you to
stay in line and follow the rules
' Boldness without the rules of ritual conduct becomes insubordination '
-Confusis
 Philosophy Of Balance
 The Western notion of proving one idea is better than the other can sometimes lead to irrational behavior emotions
run too high and we sometimes push our selves to the extremities of our believes ie
 Liberal vs conservative , science vs spirituality this device creates unnecessary tension and the western thought
doesn't even consider to reconcile these seemingly opposing ideologies
 In eastern tradition harmony is the key following the philosophy of yin and yang which says that there is always a
balance in 2 opposing forces Where one cannot exist without the other
 When people see things as beautiful ugliness is created , when people see things as good evil is created , being and
non being produce each other ,Difficult and easy compliment each other , long and short define each other high
and low oppose each other , for and aft follow each other
 -tao ti ching
 All in all each philosophy provides a mind set that benefits the individual and the whole of society while it is
important each human being has his own personal rights and freedoms but we must remember that we are all in this
together and in most of the situations we need to harmonies the opposing view points and realize that conflict is just a
part of life but there are evidence when the absolute truth can be found out by imperial ways in the end all we need is
balance in the wisdom to combine both east and the west not just culturally
but philosophically as well
 Themes
– This eassy presents two themes;
Happiness and Morality.
Happiness
Happiness is considered synonymous with self satisfaction, fate and
luck, cheerfulness and sometimes some people relate it with richness.
 According to philosophers happiness is a state of mind or a part of life
(moments) that goes well for the person leading it.
 Aristotle said “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
 According to Aristotle happiness is the thing that makes life worth
living.
 Plato said “The man who makes everything that leads to happiness
depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very
best plan for living happily.”
 John Stuart Mill said “I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting
my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them. ”

–
We all around the world think that happiness is about having everthing we desire
and ruling over others but the true happiness lies with in us and we just need
the right acts to take it out
As it is said “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”So we should learn to
accept ourselves as well as others just the way they are and in this way we will
be happy with the beauty of differences in our universe
morover the happiness is not in the places it lies in the people who live with us , if
we are not happy in one place then its not the place its us , and we need to bring
the change within our selves
our happy is not in being best but feeling best in all that we do !
Morality
– Morality is derived from Latin word “moralis” that means manner,
character, proper behavior.
– morality is which gets a person to make difference between right and
wrong and it leads to the proper conduct of an individual in a society
which further makes the society peaceful and calm .
– Morality is often related with ethics, law and religion.
– Confucius said “Hold faithfulness and sincerity as the first principle.”
– He enlists the basis of morality and virtues by this saying “To be able
under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue;
these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness
and kindness.”
when it comes to Morality people have double standards .They have a believe
in following norms and they preach them but when it comes to reality they
lack practice
we should be bold enough to accept our doings and teach only what we turly
believe in and what we practise in our daily lives
when there is a contradiction in our saying and our doings then we can''t form
a society with a strong foundation