Guest end3 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. Are we complete as is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotBlinded Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 It's our natural state otherwise we would be happiest and under no stress when we were unhappy. It's just natural. I'm going to need more from you to get a train of thought going. I run on premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Happiness is important to survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franko47 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. Are we complete as is? Yet we're never really satisfied. There is always something "more" that seems to encourage the human spirit. I'm not sure that even a "celestial paradise" would be completely satisfying. Existence without challenges ? Personally, I'd like my own starship. Maybe even a little danger and some conflicts to be resolved. (not necessarily war). A narco-sedated eternity existing without goals isn't my idea of a "future". Sorry, too much Star Trek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skepticalme Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. Are we complete as is? Perhaps we don't seek those things specifically but simply find them when we attain the things we need. We have evolved to experience satisfaction when our needs are met. Food, shelter, family, etc. are important to survival. Having an emotional reward that encourages you to pursue and attain them is a survival strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRDWarrior Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I'm not sure that I seek out happiness - if a situation doesn't make me happy, then yes, I try to change it, but I guess I associate "seeking" happiness something I did as a christian - always seeking for god to bring happiness and joy into my life. Now I just make it happen, and if I'm not happy, then I simply do something about it. If I don't change anything, then I don't expect my situation to change. I suppose that could still be seen as seeking happiness, but as to why - because of how our brains work, the chemicals that happiness and joy induce and how our bodies respond to these things, versus how we respond to stress situations. Our bodies are designed to operate best in a relatively peaceful state with the occasional adrenaline charge, and we subconsciously strive to maintain that balance. Our bodies do not operate well under constant stress, and the related problems from months or years of stress can take years to fully get rid of, if you ever can. There is constantly more information coming out about this aspect. So, there's the scientific reason for seeking out happiness and wanting joy. Hope can provide an intermediary happiness response, but given too much time without results stops being as productive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbird1963 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. I'm not sure, from your limited post what you are asking. However, while guilty of the first, when societies increase the average wealth of its people, the birth rate goes down. So, in America, while most may be fat (I don't know the statistics on that), we don't reproduce at "an alarming rate." "Are we complete as is?" - we are always growing, moving forward and changing if our basic needs are taken care of. It's not happiness so much that we seek as what Maslow popularized as "self-actualization." I believe that "S-A" is the realization of one's full potentialities after basic physical and mental needs have been met. Does this involve happiness? Maybe. Probably. But I think it involves more. Self-direction, self-determination to one degree or another and the full integration of all ones strengths and abilities into a whole person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shyone Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 "Are we complete as is?" - we are always growing, moving forward and changing if our basic needs are taken care of. It's not happiness so much that we seek as what Maslow popularized as "self-actualization." I believe that "S-A" is the realization of one's full potentialities after basic physical and mental needs have been met. We are goal oriented. Our physiology demands it, the nature of our world promotes it, and we derive "happiness" from attaining our goals. But a single goal should not define us. If the goal is wealth, and we achieved it, we would still need to set additional goals or dissolve in a puddle of satisfied acid. Having "everything we could possibly want" does not make us happy. It is as much the struggle as it is the accomplishment, but ultimately we "pursue" happiness without the expectation of complete bliss. "Complete bliss" is the recipe for misery. I have one thing I'm writing for this forum. I don't want to complete it because that would end my task, but OTOH I want to complete it. I'm working on another writing that describes something that interests me, and it has taken me on a learning journey to find that which I don't know, even if I become disappointed. I read the posts, think and respond, but the posts never end, and if they did, I would be depressed. My job is a constant stream of problems that I solve, and I take pride in that, but I would be lost without the ongoing challenges and the expectation of more challenges for the future. I have goals for vacations, goals for repaying debts, and on and on. I will be happy to pay my debts. I will be glad to go on vacations, but as much as these goals are important, they are transitory peaks of satisfaction, not the only thing I care about. If I ever have nothing to do, no goals to set or strive for, then I may as well be dead. Change is what keeps us alive. We thrive on strife, even if we have to create it to overcome it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. Are we complete as is? Humans have two basic states of feeling: 1. Bad, meaning something is broke, fix it 2. Good, nothing is broke, don't fix it. So basically we seek happiness in the same way we seek to hit the nail instead of the thumb holding it. By the way if you want to be perfect, be perfectly miserable. It's an easier state to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Are we complete as is? I would say no. We are like the Interstate. We are never done, because things always break when trucks run you over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? Because it feels good. I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. True. It's personal. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. I'm working on the fat part. Need to get rid of 20 lbs. And I'm done reproducing. Are we complete as is? Never. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I don't see it quite that way. I do consider myself complete as-is - but that personal concept of completeness includes the effort to seek happiness, as well as the discontent that drives the search. I guess I'm sort of Star Trek about it - I figure that the struggle to improve one's life is part and parcel of being human. If I stopped struggling, I'd feel as if I were lacking something essential to being human. But then, I'm a little weird that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 End I've written this quote several times now, but I like it and it seems relevant here. "At the core of each of us is a paradox. The paradox takes the form of a question. The question becomes the journey that defines our lives." I wish I could remember the author's name, but I don't. I think his words have a truthful ring to them. And I've come to suspect that "paradox" may be the essence of living beings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest end3 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 End I've written this quote several times now, but I like it and it seems relevant here. "At the core of each of us is a paradox. The paradox takes the form of a question. The question becomes the journey that defines our lives." I wish I could remember the author's name, but I don't. I think his words have a truthful ring to them. And I've come to suspect that "paradox" may be the essence of living beings. Yeah, that is right on....I wake these days thinking wtf? and then get in the shower anyhow. What has provoked thought is the founding father's list of rights and the qualities of the list...and added qualities....fwiw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 End I've written this quote several times now, but I like it and it seems relevant here. "At the core of each of us is a paradox. The paradox takes the form of a question. The question becomes the journey that defines our lives." I wish I could remember the author's name, but I don't. I think his words have a truthful ring to them. And I've come to suspect that "paradox" may be the essence of living beings. Yeah, that is right on....I wake these days thinking wtf? and then get in the shower anyhow. What has provoked thought is the founding father's list of rights and the qualities of the list...and added qualities....fwiw. Perhaps the meaning of life is just inertia. A body in motion stays in motion until acted on by an outside force. Life keeps on living until acted upon by an outside force. You do realize that if your mother had had a headache on a certain day some years ago you'd be someone else? Even then you had to beat Sally to the egg. Poor Sally, she never saw the light of day. You caused a whole shitload of people not to be born, and now you are not sure that getting in the race and winning it was all that cool. Edited for spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Perhaps the meaning of life is just inertia. Ah yes! The musings of one who refuses to see the organization of life we will nod to entropic forces No glance at our epistemic knife it's all particles in motion no functions to be seen no call for fancy notion can't upset physic's dean So we'll chase particles around and puree the organism until life's essence is found to reside in mechanism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest end3 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Perhaps the meaning of life is just inertia. Ah yes! The musings of one who refuses to see the organization of life we will nod to entropic forces No glance at our epistemic knife it's all particles in motion no functions to be seen no call for fancy notion can't upset physic's dean So we'll chase particles around and puree the organism until life's essence is found to reside in mechanism looks like Black Bart has called you out of the kitchen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotBlinded Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Ah yes! The musings of one who refuses to see the organization of life we will nod to entropic forces No glance at our epistemic knife it's all particles in motion no functions to be seen no call for fancy notion can't upset physic's dean So we'll chase particles around and puree the organism until life's essence is found to reside in mechanism Oh zap! I love that and I saved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Oh zap! I love that and I saved it! Thanks NotBlinded. That means a lot coming from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotBlinded Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Oh zap! I love that and I saved it! Thanks NotBlinded. That means a lot coming from you. You have a very nice way of saying exactly what I want to say but when it comes out of my "mouth", it doesn't sound so nice. I could learn a lot from these songs of yours in saying things nicely. Keep posting them please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Perhaps the meaning of life is just inertia. Ah yes! The musings of one who refuses to see the organization of life we will nod to entropic forces No glance at our epistemic knife it's all particles in motion no functions to be seen no call for fancy notion can't upset physic's dean So we'll chase particles around and puree the organism until life's essence is found to reside in mechanism I doubt it. We will chase women as usual. However, since I caught a woman* 37 years ago, I have time to speculate on mechanism. *Actually she caught me. I hope that doesn't mess up the space time continuum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerplunk Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? I mean I don't see this as a tribal thing/need anymore. Most are fat and reproduce at an alarming rate. Are we complete as is? That seems rather tautological. Happiness, is by its definition, that end, sought for itself, for which all other ends drive towards. It doesn't seem to uncover much to say that we all want happiness, that's simply a truism. The difficulty is unpacking what this happiness consists of. -Kerplunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanta Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Why do we seek happiness, have hope, want joy? Because it feels good. Are we complete as is? As individuals or as a group? Phanta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 That seems rather tautological. Happiness, is by its definition, that end, sought for itself, for which all other ends drive towards. It doesn't seem to uncover much to say that we all want happiness, that's simply a truism. The difficulty is unpacking what this happiness consists of. Good points. What is happiness? Is it a state of feeling or is it a benefit we value? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shyone Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 That seems rather tautological. Happiness, is by its definition, that end, sought for itself, for which all other ends drive towards. It doesn't seem to uncover much to say that we all want happiness, that's simply a truism. The difficulty is unpacking what this happiness consists of. Good points. What is happiness? Is it a state of feeling or is it a benefit we value? Happiness if a warm gun. No, wait... Hap-penis is... No... Happiness is transitory. I'm happy when I get something I want, but after I have it, satisfaction is only transient. We struggle, and we overcome obstacles, and that makes us happy for a while, and then we seek new obstacles to overcome. It's like some one said; life is a journey, and we should enjoy the stops along the way. It is the jouney that gives us happiness; it is the dance that makes us move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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