#1 For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, is it possible to be happy? Why?
What's your definition of HAPPINESS?
Well, most people will agree that people “strive after happiness; they want to become happy and to remain so.”(p42) However, there is no certain information that directly tells how to become happy or whether one has successfully achieved pleasure. Besides, the definition of what happiness is as well as the process of being happy will vary amongst people. For me, happiness is a mixture of feelings of satisfaction, warmness and optimism. According to Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Discontent, "happiness... comes from the (preferably sudden) satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree, and it is from its nature only possible as an episodic phenomenon."(p43)
Then, for him, can humans actually be happy? From what I have known, he denies that people experience true happiness. Also, Adam Curtis who has made a documentary called "Happiness Machines" based on Freud’s idea agrees with Freud.
Freud states that “the intention that man should be ‘happy’ is not included in the plan of ‘Creation’.”(p43) It means that people are not intended to feel any joy because they are born not to be content. Based on the concept, automatic assumption, which is people’s belief that one absence means the other, unhappiness is part of the ‘Creation’ plan since happiness is not applied. Then, it is innate thing to everyone to feel displeasure.
Furthermore, “our possibilities of happiness are already restricted by our constitution. Unhappiness is much less difficult to experience.”(p44) However, this statement encourages that people are ABLE to feel happiness which, in his opinion, is rarely found. It is thankful that even tiny portion of the feeling of pleasure exists in human although it is much easier to acknowledge displeasure. He explains that the effort, which people put in to achieve happiness, “aims... at an absence of pain and unpleasure”(p42). It means that people constantly feel discontent so they try to remove as much of pain as possible. It appears that there is no room for happiness; there might be, but it will be a small portion.
Yet, this little hope fades away as soon as Freud claims that "any situation that is desired by the pleasure principle is prolonged; it only produces a feeling of mild contentment.”(p43) Does he mean that that enjoyment people feel is not joy, but is, in fact, a satisfaction?
In my opinion, his statement applies to the modern society if a feeling of happiness, indeed, equals a feeling of contentment. As greed is powerfully positioned in human, people never satisfy with what they have. For example, a little girl, who wants red shoes, asks her mother to buy them for her. The girl would smile, then. After obtaining those shoes, she asks her mom for another one when she sees shiny yellow shoes. Then, her mother would ask, "Honey, but you've already have a new pair of shoes." Then the girl would respond, "Now, I want those yellow ones as well!"
Similarly, people are not satisfied when lack of emotions are present, especially, "love". Babies desire for attention from their parents. If parents make an eye-contact with their babies, they need to hug them as a next step; the babies are expecting more love from their parents. In a relationship, it will never be satisfied of just saying "I love you" to one's boyfriend or girlfriend. They would like to hold hands and hug each other. Like above, people feel satisfaction(happiness) only for a certain period of time. The feeling of pleasure doesn't last long enough, but it will fade away soon.
Overall, both Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud believe that it is hard to feel true happiness.
Well, most people will agree that people “strive after happiness; they want to become happy and to remain so.”(p42) However, there is no certain information that directly tells how to become happy or whether one has successfully achieved pleasure. Besides, the definition of what happiness is as well as the process of being happy will vary amongst people. For me, happiness is a mixture of feelings of satisfaction, warmness and optimism. According to Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Discontent, "happiness... comes from the (preferably sudden) satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree, and it is from its nature only possible as an episodic phenomenon."(p43)
Then, for him, can humans actually be happy? From what I have known, he denies that people experience true happiness. Also, Adam Curtis who has made a documentary called "Happiness Machines" based on Freud’s idea agrees with Freud.
Freud states that “the intention that man should be ‘happy’ is not included in the plan of ‘Creation’.”(p43) It means that people are not intended to feel any joy because they are born not to be content. Based on the concept, automatic assumption, which is people’s belief that one absence means the other, unhappiness is part of the ‘Creation’ plan since happiness is not applied. Then, it is innate thing to everyone to feel displeasure.
Furthermore, “our possibilities of happiness are already restricted by our constitution. Unhappiness is much less difficult to experience.”(p44) However, this statement encourages that people are ABLE to feel happiness which, in his opinion, is rarely found. It is thankful that even tiny portion of the feeling of pleasure exists in human although it is much easier to acknowledge displeasure. He explains that the effort, which people put in to achieve happiness, “aims... at an absence of pain and unpleasure”(p42). It means that people constantly feel discontent so they try to remove as much of pain as possible. It appears that there is no room for happiness; there might be, but it will be a small portion.
Yet, this little hope fades away as soon as Freud claims that "any situation that is desired by the pleasure principle is prolonged; it only produces a feeling of mild contentment.”(p43) Does he mean that that enjoyment people feel is not joy, but is, in fact, a satisfaction?
In my opinion, his statement applies to the modern society if a feeling of happiness, indeed, equals a feeling of contentment. As greed is powerfully positioned in human, people never satisfy with what they have. For example, a little girl, who wants red shoes, asks her mother to buy them for her. The girl would smile, then. After obtaining those shoes, she asks her mom for another one when she sees shiny yellow shoes. Then, her mother would ask, "Honey, but you've already have a new pair of shoes." Then the girl would respond, "Now, I want those yellow ones as well!"
Similarly, people are not satisfied when lack of emotions are present, especially, "love". Babies desire for attention from their parents. If parents make an eye-contact with their babies, they need to hug them as a next step; the babies are expecting more love from their parents. In a relationship, it will never be satisfied of just saying "I love you" to one's boyfriend or girlfriend. They would like to hold hands and hug each other. Like above, people feel satisfaction(happiness) only for a certain period of time. The feeling of pleasure doesn't last long enough, but it will fade away soon.
Overall, both Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud believe that it is hard to feel true happiness.
Well done, Kelly! I appreciate your distinction between 'joy' and 'satisfaction' - it is important to keep in mind when asking ourselves if (in Freud's view) it is possible to experience true happiness. :)
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