The philosophy of human suffering and pleasure seeking
The role of suffering in human existence:
“Birth is pain, old age is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain; sorrow, grief, and anxiety is pain. Contact with the unpleasant is pain. Separating from the pleasant is pain. Not getting what one wants is pain. In short, the five assemblies of mind and matter that are subject to attachment are pain.” — the Noble truths
The simplicity of life is found merely in the in between; In every obstacle gone over, and every achievement ever celebrated. Each individual has a unique personal journey, story, and path up until rest, and each of which is just that different than the other. There is no easy way to get through hardship, because the only way out is through. There is no perfect life, or pure happiness ever guaranteed. There is only an imagined and unrealistic notion that we’ve created in the depth of our minds, from the consciousness of within that was born from social acceptance and the voice of our higher selves.
The end goal is not happiness (so stop chasing it)
Human suffering is an inevitable part of human experience and an inherit part of life, so why deny it? The truth is that, ironically, we suffer more when we chase “happiness”. Happiness looks different for everyone, but what’s common between all, is the human-selfishness, and how almost every act ever made comes out of one’s own self-interest. It goes unnoticed, unquestioned, and never talked about, but the reasons behind most acts, rely on one’s benefit in return. Even in helping others, we’re indirectly chasing pleasure, as the feeling we get from giving or helping, is pleasurable.
This also relates to how we love our comfort zones and our little attachments, and for that, we create a constant fear of the unknown. We love those attachments so much, we almost believe we can’t live without them. Eventually, some may turn into addictions, almost taking over our lives.
True freedom in self, and peace within soul, comes from letting go of those attachments, and finding ways which allow us to sparkle without them. It’s never easy, though, but that’s what makes it so important. The things that truly matter, are the works we make efforts for to have long term happiness, rather than instant gratification. It’s easy to have bad habits, or toxic addictions, but the most difficult part is being aware of them.
One great example on how difficult but important it is to let go of those unnecessary and superefficient objects is shown in the Russian movie “The Island- Ostrov”. In the scene where Father Filaret goes to Father Anatoly to become a Hermit (Monks that go into the wilderness), he struggles to adapt to the life of isolation from external materials that bring him comfort. By teaching him a valuable lesson, Father Anatoly burns his boots, and throws away his blanket into the ocean.
The scene shows vivid representation of the horrors, and terrifying feelings of anxiety by Father Filaret, who in the heat of the moment was severely afraid and confused, but later on realizes the purpose of it and thanks Father Anatoly for being such a great friend. Having noticed the importance of this, he woke up to reality to realize just how much he was weakened and limited by those grudges he was holding.
Is happiness important?
We tend to think that we want a happy life and only that. We often wait for the right time for it to happen, thinking that one day, in some place, everything will be perfect. As if, there’s such a thing. The truth is that, whenever we obtain what we thought we wanted, we lose that excitement for it, almost instantaneously, and often times question why we ever craved it so much.
So this is why, we must never have happiness as the end goal, but rather, internal freedom and peace within thy self. By acquiring that, we must sacrifice the easy-access pleasurable desires, and endure hard work in return for a long-term reward. This, however, also isn’t always the case nor is it a rule.
The threats and benefits of hedonism: the pursuit of happiness
Hedonism is a school of thought created by the Greek philosopher Aristippus of Cyrene. It is the notion of avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure. Aristippus believed that the good cause worth pursuing is the one that will bring most pleasure, and that one must enjoy the present moment, because tomorrow isn’t assured. This idea is different from what is taught, as constant seeking for pleasure may lead to pain and unhealthy addictions. While looking at this philosophy in this way may sound rather stupid, there is some wisdom to it.
Pleasure isn’t the only intrinsic value, since there is meaning to life, like achieving great things, building and maintaining relationships. Sometimes, that sense of fulfillment is more important than easy access pleasurable acts.
Robert Nozick, American political philosopher, created a thought experiment where he gave people two options:
- Being plugged into a pleasure giving machine
- Living in current reality with all its pain
And, people always chose reality, over unlimited pleasure, as it has more meaning, and sense of purpose. As plugged pleasure is simply boring.
We have a non-ending pursue, for chasing those fleeting pleasures- like being enslaved to our emotions. Hedonism tells you to do what gives you pleasure, but in reality, that shouldn’t be the case with addictive and bad habits. Seeking pleasure is within finding the little things that bring you joy and excitement, but aren’t a danger to you or others. For example, enjoying that first sip of coffee in the morning, taking a walk with friends to school, or riding a bike around the city.
As constantly seeking pleasure won’t bring you pure happiness for the rest of your life, constantly avoiding it won’t bring you happiness either. What’s important here is creating a sense of self control, where you are able to allow yourself to stumble every once in a while (like scroll on Instagram or Tik Tok) but also not making it a bad habit of yours.
Losing the ability to obtain mind control
The secret is in acquiring this mind control, and adapting to it.
As of late, humans are becoming so easily distracted, that they are almost not aware of just how much they’re missing out on real life. And, even though we’re almost turning into the world in which Aldous Huxley depicted in 1931, we are getting closer and closer to it, to the point where in 20 to 30 years from now will look exactly like that World State.
“There will be in the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them but will rather enjoy it.” — (Aldous Huxley, Tavistock Group, California Medical School, 1961)
Consumerism and tyranny
Is there a way to be completely happy, all the time? And, without any suffering in return? As that seems impossible, the threats of a consumer society are alarmingly similar to the future generation Aldous Huxley threatened us about in his book “Brave New World”.
Brave New World
In this novel, Huxley represents a utopian’s society, in which people are conditioned for their futuristic predetermined roles from birth. The conditioning process consists of making the babies love their roles by using certain technologies, like making them hate the smell of flowers in order to love working in factories (which was the role for Deltas). The society is divided into levels, which is referred to as the Caste system; which is made up of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, Epsilons. And, by using this method, people never complain about their roles, because they have been conditioned to love hem. They don’t even realize, that there’s any difference between them and the rest of society. Another reason why they are always happy, is because they’re forced to take a drug every day called “Soma”, that keeps them happy.
The goal behind this way of living is to avoid conflict, wars, and human suffering, as well as sustaining economic and social stability. It values conformity over individuality, and suppresses any impulses that could disrupt their social stability.
The threat in return for this system, is the emphasis on consumerism and instant gratification, which leads to a society in which people are constantly distracted, and lack any deeper sense of meaning or purpose. The government in the novel encourages people to consume and engage in hedonistic pleasures, rather than pursuing intellectual or creative endeavors.
Come to think about it, this is probably the only possible way for being completely happy (forever), but the dangers of it is sacrificing individual freedom, as people become so distracted, and constantly entertained, that they don’t realize the liberties being taken away from them.
By taking the drug every day, and being conditioned for your role in life, having no choice in that, you lose the ability to think for yourself. As sameness has its benefits of losing fear of judgement by others, it destroys any sense of uniqueness, human distinction, passion, creativity, personality, and merely the beauty of life.
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
How this relates to real life
This whole World State represented in Huxley’s book “Brave New World”, greatly reflects on some aspects in real life. We are taught, from a young age about all the norms, and “safe” ways of living. The rat race is the closest reflection on it, as it shows how humans may very easily live in a non ending cycle of working a basic job for a small reward, afraid to take risks and work for themselves, rather than one hierarchy controlling.
School and college
As education is the root of human evolution, it is also the most sensitive aspect of growth, and living.
The school system, however, differs from education itself.
One of my favorite content creators, Max Reisinger talks about how the idea of going to college almost seems too easy, like the road ahead is so steady, and well prepared for everyone about to get on it. He also mentions how important academic education is in respect to what one may acquire from learning in life. Each of which, needs the other, to be as effective. It is the idea, however, of having a safety net, in which limits your sense of liberation and personal development.
And, this also relates to a lot of the things we are taught to do from such a young age, they all seem almost too easy, as if they were scripted, just like how babies are conditioned for certain roles, in Huxley’s Brave New World.
Dangers of the digital world and enhanced technologies
Not only that, but the true representation in real life of our freedom being stolen from us in just how much the digital world is taking over our lives. It has become so effortless to satisfy whatever need we want, within any accessible technology at hand. It like we’re about to lose the ability to feel real feelings, and go through real life experiences as they are, without any digital distractions. It has become a real battle for those who want to stay living in the present while obtaining mind control and enduring real hardship for long term success, and internal freedom.
The things that truly matter, and the things that don’t
Real moments: the little things
There is a difference in what we believe to be the end-goal happiness, and happy moments. Often times, we take all the little, wonders of life, for grated. We only ever realize how much things impacted us, when they’re gone. And, only then, is it too late to look back and wish you had appreciated it a little more.
Gratitude
That’s why, keeping track of your personal gratitude, on a regular basis, helps you think about all the precious moments happening in the present moment, as well as the special, once-in-a-lifetime people you’re meeting. Because, the truth is that true happiness is in appreciating the little things, those usually come from nature itself, and from being who we are freely, and whole-heartedly. Like going on walks, talking to people, incontrollable laughter, and looking at the way life goes about.
It’s all about balance
Going through life with internal peace is not about chasing happiness, or making it your end goal, but rather, it’s more about finding your own stability and balance between enjoying the real enjoyable moments, as well as doing all the things that take time and effort in pursuit for a greater goal in the future. It’s about finding what works best for you, to stay in control of your emotions, rather than being enslaved to them and seeking instant satisfaction. It’s about getting out of your comfort zones often, and constantly evolving. It’s about having gratitude towards self, and others, and know what and what not to work hard for.
