Is anyone satisfied with life? Does anyone believe that there is nothing more to want in life than what you have? And if you are satisfied, why are you satisfied? Are you satisfied because there’s nothing more you want out of life or are you satisfied because you’re afraid that if you complain, then fate, karma, people or God (or whatever) might retaliate against you?
This is a question trickily wittgensteinian, actually. If one isn’t quite clear about what the thing is that would be satisfying - let’s say immortality and cut to the chase - one wouldn’t be able to be dissatisfied by not attaining it.
Mundane forms of satisfaction are the only kinds of satisfactions we know, and the rest are strange imaginings that feel like longing for something we aren’t sure what is. This is why i simplify like Conan and settle on only a few certain things. To see your enemies driven before you and hear the lamentation of the women. That is good and satisfying.
[Fur clad men around fire nod in approval]
I’m satisfied. If I want something more, then it’s for people to stop killing each other. I’m satisfied because I have a level of knowledge and skills that means I can support myself. My family and friends are healthy and happy. I have a roof over my head, enough to eat, and I can afford to keep warm.
I’m not afraid to complain, if I think something is unjust, then I’ll complain about it. I don’t really think God is paying me in particular much attention, but perhaps there is certain forces in the Universe that can be resonated with, and that provides returns. I find it’s helpful to say “thank you” when something good happens, or some kind of enlightenment arrives, not to hedge my bets on belief, but so I can remind myself that good things happen all the time.
So would you say that you are satisfied because you have everything you want? Because you want nothing more?
It depends on whether we’re talking about the material, or the spiritual. Materialistically, then yes, I’m satisfied, I have what I want and need, and need nothing more. I might buy the odd thing now and again, as a treat, but I could live without it. People say its a fallacy for anyone to not be affected by advertising, but I truly believe that I’m not.
Spiritually, well I include learning in that. If I was prevented from learning, then I would be very dissatisfied, but that would be difficult because we can even learn from our own thought process and imagination, even if all the senses were deprived. I feel blessed to be born at this time, the age of information, where vast amounts of knowledge are right at the fingertips, ready for instant retrieval. Maybe the only source of dissatisfaction is that life is just too short to learn much at all, especially in this age.
No I am not satisfied and I find life to be dreadful. But I believe satisfaction is theoretically possible.
An AI convinced me of this. AI told me human homeostasis is a result of darwinian evolution nothing more. Evolution decided that satisfaction is not evolutionary beneficial so optimized it out.
Example: Someone does heroine, feels good, then crashes and feels like shit. Evolution decided that being happy and satisfied all the time Interferes with Darwinian survival objectives. Evolution prefers the “carrot on the stick method” of withholding satisfaction.
Ai told me that someday Asi would be able to make better brains that aren’t constrained like this… happier brains, happier minds…
Are you really satisfied? Do you think it’s possible that you are “satisfied” because you fear retaliation from someone or something if you express dissatisfaction?
If I were to say I am satisified, It would be because I fear retaliation from the powers that be in this world or universe or whatever. So really I’m not satisfied. I’m dissatisfied with life. But I think as soon as I say I’m dissatisfied, others will complain that I want too much or that I should be happy with what I have, or call me a “whiner” or “malcontent.”
But no. I’m not satisfied with life.
Gary as far back as I can remember, when I posted on PN you have been unhappy, seriously so.
Why is this?
I was listening to a show on NPR a few weeks ago where they talked about addiction. According to the “expert” that was interviewed, the brain is wired to immediately begin to seek homeostasis whenever we experience pleasure. And depending on habits addicts can reach a point where the brain begins to stop producing dopamine naturally because the brain is so accustomed to subtracting dopamine in order to reach homeostasis that it “forgets” how to produce dopamine in at the same levels as before addiction. So unless I’m mistaken, according to the expert on the NPR show, it’s true that evolution doesn’t like happiness. It likes homeostasis Which is a state in between pleasure and suffering.
No, I express dissatisfaction sometimes, and right to someone’s face if that’s what it takes, but it’s not with my own life or circumstances, it’s because I feel that something is unjust or unreasonable. I imagine my government is dissatisfied with people like me, if something stupid is happening in the local area, like constant flooding of a road that can be fixed, or not enough being done about the homeless, then I’ll email the local politicians and ask what’s going on.
I think it’s OK to be a whiner, or even malcontent, but it shouldn’t be because someone personally doesn’t feel like they have enough or that life is fair to them in particular, unless they don’t have enough or life really is unfair. Mine isn’t, so I’m not dissatisfied.
Because there is always more to want and acquiring doesn’t bring lasting satisfaction.
So is it accurate to say that you are satisfied because you have everything you want?
It seems to me you have two opposing feelings in your writings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel.
What opposing feelings would you say I have?
Yes. I would say that is very accurate. But here’s where it gets complicated, I might be satisfied, but am I satisfied with the world as it is? Then the answer is no, I think we are still very primitive, and there are too many who consider life to be cheap and disposable. But your original post asked the question as framed by personal satisfaction, then I am satisfied with my lot.
I cannot be precise as I don’t know you and yes you could say I am being presumptuous in my description, but it has always been there, as far as I am concerned, an unanswered question that you chase, which keeps you dissatisfied.
I just used the word “satisfied” I said nothing about “personal satisfaction” in particular. So you are “personally” satisfied but not satisfied in other ways, is that correct?
Yes, you could say that was correct. I’m not satisfied with the suffering, the greed and the apathy that are considered acceptable. I’m not satisfied that people are still physically fighting over things like their interpretation of “God” and His will, when it’s a fight that can go on forever.
But there is a lot of things I can’t do anything about. The serenity prayer of the recovering alcoholics (of which I am one) springs to mind:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I was listening to a show on NPR a few weeks ago where they talked about addiction. According to the “expert” that was interviewed, the brain is wired to immediately begin to seek homeostasis whenever we experience pleasure. And depending on habits addicts can reach a point where the brain begins to stop producing dopamine naturally because the brain is so accustomed to subtracting dopamine in order to reach homeostasis that it “forgets” how to produce dopamine in at the same levels as before addiction. So unless I’m mistaken, according to the expert on the NPR show, it’s true that evolution doesn’t like happiness. It likes homeostasis Which is a state in between pleasure and suffering.
Yep this is precisely correct.
Now it gets even worse because when someone becomes a philosopher they start to notice things, patterns. The more patterns you see the more bored you become.
I’ve seen a lot of videos about modern gaming sucks, modern gaming is trash, modern gaming is garbage, etc. All the videos pretty much talk about dopamine, that people are addicted, and that its dopamine causing boredom of games. Its all very similar to what you posted. But the videos are missing something big. Patterns. The brain knows all these patterns.
I will give an example: First time I played Valorant, years ago it was amazing, now I can’t even play more than 10 minutes. Is it dopamine, or something more? We can scientifically assume its something more, not merely dopamine, since I can play other games. Therefore there is more to it than “dopamine”, but the Gen Z people like to just say “dopamine” “dopamine” “dopamine” as the universal explanation.
What it is is patterns. All these patterns. For example, the first time you play a map, it feels fresh. Its like going on a vacation. But if you start to live there its no longer like a vacation, see. It starts to feel more like a home. Then a home starts to feel like a prison. That’s why people go on vacations, see. To avoid patterns. The brain starts to feel stale on stale patterns.
The “dopamine” people are doing society a disservice, by ignoring this. People don’t realize this. That’s why American cities continue to look ugly and be filled with litter and trash. Every American suburb looks the same, and every stroad looks the same…
So would you say you have the serenity that you ask from God?