All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.--Pascal's Pensées
All may seek happiness, but few find it. Sometime fate intervenes, as when we lose our health, and sometimes we let ourselves go to the dogs. We do ourselves in.
The horrific events of the 20th century--in particular, the experiences of many in the concentration camps--ripped open the human psyche and revealed what the great poets have always known: Man is the glory and the scandal of the Universe.
It is true that misery makes man a fiend and that contented people usually do not cause trouble. Is absolute happiness, then, possible under the human condition?
The answer is no. Neither absolute happiness nor unrelenting misery is possible and here's why:
The obstacles preventing the realization of both these extreme states are of the same nature: they derive from our human condition which is opposed to everything infinite. Our ever-insufficient knowledge of the future opposes it: and this is called, in the one instance, hope, and in the other, uncertainty of the following day. The certainty of death opposes it: for it places a limit on every joy, but also on every grief. The inevitable material cares oppose it: for as they poison every lasting happiness, they equally assiduously distract us from our misfortunes and make our consciousness of them intermittent and hence supportable.--Primo Levi
It is true that misery makes man a fiend and that contented people usually do not cause trouble. Is absolute happiness, then, possible under the human condition?
The answer is no. Neither absolute happiness nor unrelenting misery is possible and here's why:
The obstacles preventing the realization of both these extreme states are of the same nature: they derive from our human condition which is opposed to everything infinite. Our ever-insufficient knowledge of the future opposes it: and this is called, in the one instance, hope, and in the other, uncertainty of the following day. The certainty of death opposes it: for it places a limit on every joy, but also on every grief. The inevitable material cares oppose it: for as they poison every lasting happiness, they equally assiduously distract us from our misfortunes and make our consciousness of them intermittent and hence supportable.--Primo Levi
If absolute happiness is unattainable, then what should we aim for? The answer to this question is surprisingly simple: we should aim for a meaningful existence.
When we are conscious of an unconditional meaning in our lives, we will have less difficulty accepting things as they are. We will find our way in good times and in bad times. We will accept unavoidable suffering just as we accept the love of a child or the beauty of nature.
When we are conscious of an unconditional meaning in our lives, we will have less difficulty accepting things as they are. We will find our way in good times and in bad times. We will accept unavoidable suffering just as we accept the love of a child or the beauty of nature.
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