For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, is it possible to be happy? Why?
According to his book, Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud states that is far easier to be unhappy than happy. It requires more effort to experience happiness as opposed to unhappiness. We are vulnerable to suffering via our own bodies, our environment and our relations with other people. However, simply because Freud states that it is more challenging to be happy, it does not mean it is unmanageable to feel joy. Difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.
Freud mentions in Civilization and its Discontents, that because there is so much opportunity for displeasure in life, that men have begun to lower their standards on what constitutes the feeling of ‘happiness’. He goes on to say that some men will confuse happiness with simply escaping unhappiness. I am glad to say that I am not nearly as pessimistic or analytical (however you choose to see it) as Sigmund Freud and believe that humans, as a species, do not suffer a great deal from searching for happiness.
Through our lives, we try to find purpose or a calling. We run into obstacles which cause us grief and misery. Perhaps Freud is correct to say that it is easier to feel unhappiness as we are often encompassed by it in our lives. Nonetheless, despite all obstacles, every time we overcome one, we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. I know that I myself find joy in even the little things, such as when the weather is sunny as opposed to rain or when I just make the bus instead of waiting half an hour for the next one. This sensation, the feeling of triumph, pulls us through and we continue. If we didn’t – if all humans couldn’t withstand the hurdles of life – our species would’ve died out thousands of years ago.
Freud does discuss in his work that happiness is possible. He emphasizes that unhappiness is more likely and he alludes that living a blissful life "means putting enjoyment before caution" (Freud, pg. 44-45) and thus "brings its own punishment" (pg. 45). Regardless of whether or not Freud is correct about the ability to feel happiness throughout human life, I find that his view is far too negative for me. It would be beneficial for the spirit to not spend so much time considering all the ways in which we indulge in unhappiness.
Sigmund Freud, Civilizations and its Discontents.
Well done. You outline a number of key issue in Freud's thought. And, I appreciate your positive outlook. However, within this Freudian framework, I do need to challenge your idea that happiness is based on individual choice to appreciate the 'little things'. While I appreciate your personal examples, how can we say that a person is in control of his or her happiness if the achievement of this sensation is derived from the fulfillment of urges of which the individual is himself/herself unaware (i.e. libidinal drives of the Id)?
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