Strangely enough, then, we often choose to suffer. Some of us choose to have children, and usually we have some sense of how hard it will be maybe we even know of all the research showing that, moment by moment, the years with young children can be more stressful than any other time of life, (And those who don’t know this ahead of time will quickly find out.) and yet we rarely regret our choices. Others, mostly young men, choose to go to war and, while they don’t wish to be maimed or killed, they are hoping to experience challenge, fear and struggle– – to be baptised by fire, to use the clichéd phrase. We see value in chosen suffering.Īfter all, people willingly climb mountains, run marathons, or get punched in the face in gyms and dojos. I argue that we don’t only seek pleasure, we also want to live meaningful lives– – and this involves willingly experiencing pain, anxiety, and struggle. My latest book, The Sweet Spot: Suffering, Pleasure, and the Key to a Good Life, makes the case for a different theory of what people want. Nobody could doubt we possess drives for food, sex, status and much else – and that much of our suffering is chosen with these ends in mind.īut I think hedonism is an awful theory. Challenging and difficult work is the ticket to survival and status boring exercise and unpleasant diets are what you have to go through for abs of steel and a vibrant old age, and so on. But for the hedonist, these unpleasant acts are seen as the costs that must be paid to obtain greater pleasures in the future. Hedonists wouldn’t deny that life is full of voluntary suffering – we wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, take the 8.15 into the city, undergo painful medical procedures. The spirit of this view is nicely captured in The Epic of Gilgamesh: “Let your belly be full, enjoy yourself always by day and by night! Make merry each day, dance and play day and night… For such is the destiny of men.” And also by the Canadian rock band Trooper: “We’re here for a good time / Not a long time / So have a good time / The sun can’t shine every day.” Suffering and pain are, by their very nature, to be avoided. The simplest theory of human nature is hedonism– – we pursue pleasure and comfort.
0 kommentar(er)
