Masterclass with Sandeep Dutt
To introduce the book The Courage to be Happy by Ishiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, and its core themes.
Key Takeaways
New Book Study: The group is starting The Courage to be Happy, the sequel to The Courage to be Disliked, to explore Alfred Adler’s psychology of happiness.
Book’s Premise: The book opens with a teacher (Harshita) who, after three years, is disillusioned with Adler’s ideas, finding them impractical in the real world.
Core Conflict: The teacher’s main struggle is with Adler’s “no praise, no rebuke” principle, which she feels led to an unruly class and forced her to revert to traditional discipline.
Central Theme: The philosopher’s response is that the teacher’s problem stems from a misunderstanding of Adler’s concept of “love,” which is presented as the ultimate test of courage.
Topics
Book Introduction: The Courage to be Happy
Context: The sequel to The Courage to be Disliked, this book continues the dialogue between a Philosopher (Sandeep Dutt) and a Youth (Harshita Dalawat).
Goal: To find “true contentment” by exploring Adler’s psychology, which the book’s authors claim was 100 years ahead of its time.
Key Adlerian Concepts from Book 1:
All problems are interpersonal.
Freedom is being disliked.
Happiness is a choice in the “here and now.”
The Teacher’s Dilemma
The Youth (Harshita): Now a teacher, she is disillusioned with Adler’s ideas after three years of trying to apply them in a classroom.
Core Problem: The “no praise, no rebuke” principle, which she followed faithfully, resulted in an “unruly class.”
Result: She felt forced to abandon Adler’s methods and revert to traditional discipline (rebuke, punishment), viewing Adler’s philosophy as “quackery” and “empty idealism.”
The Philosopher’s Response
Adler’s Ideas as a Prescription: The philosopher compares Adler’s ideas to “eyeglass lenses”—a tool that can broaden vision for some but may not be a universal fit.
The “Stairway of Understanding”: The philosopher argues that the teacher has not yet found the correct path to understanding Adler.
The “Biggest Choice in Life”: The philosopher identifies the teacher’s core issue as a failure to make this choice, which is defined as “love.”
Adler’s “Love”: Not a simple emotion, but “the harshest and most courage-testing task of all.”
Happiness as a Journey: It requires continuous effort, not a magical, one-time event.
Discussion: Why We Return to Teachers
Initial Responses: Participants cited reasons like clearing doubts, seeking advice, or sharing success.
Philosopher’s Correction: These are secondary reasons. The primary, unspoken motivation is “love.”
Rationale: Love is the pure, powerful bond that attracts students to a true teacher, distinguishing it from a transactional relationship with a tutor.
Connection to Adler: This bond of love is the fundamental principle of Adler’s philosophy.
Next Steps
All Participants:
Read The Courage to be Happy for the next session.
Reflect on the concept of “love” in the teacher-student relationship.
Diana L Kahmei:
Recruit a teacher to join the Masterclass.
Minakshi Prasad:
Confirm Sunday meeting details with Vikram.
