Is seeking pleasure an illness of modern society?

Question

I am very aware of our history as a species.
My question is seeking to find out why is it that in the 21 century that we humans are still seeking happiness from, and not through just being.
Is it that we are so mediocre?
Do we need to escape through entertainment, alchohol or drugs.
Have we really not moved since the roman times?
Or is our life and our living so painful we seek to escape?

Answer 1

I think we can use that word illness to describe that affliction. One of the words I want to suggest is deception. To my understanding we have the innate longing for peace and happiness. We started to feel these sensations brought by our interaction with our environment. We were hooked in this pleasure seeking activities thinking that this was the happiness that we were looking for. It is very hard for us to see this cage and open the door to see the real happiness.

Answer 2

I am not sure that I can say seeking pleasure is an illness, at least in a general sense. Even granting that the desire for nothing but pleasure is a poor pursuit you can hardly say that it is exclusive to our current era. You have already mentioned the Romans whose upper crust was historically oppulent and decadent. The pursuit of pleasure seems to have been a main goal of the wealthy, or powered classes since time immemmorial.

The bigger question here is the status of pleasure seeking as an illness. the drive for a more comfortable, entertaining, easier, or overall better life has been a goal for the majority of humanity throughout our history. This drive has been the impetus for many good and many bad things in our history. Certainly, forsaking all other cares but the selfish pursuit of decadence can be easily condemned. However this is like anyother single minded pursuit, it usually leads to some unintended consequences, normally bad. The pursuit of pleasure must be balanced with the rest of life. To over do it will cause problems, but a life of aceticism just doesn't seem that apealing to me.

Answer 3

I think that human beings have always sought pleasure.

But, what I think that you are talking about is the way that there is a trend in modern society to have this consumer attitude to always be entertained or to have some preferences satisfied "off the peg" before going on the try the next. It is true that many people seem to treat seeking pleasure as a shopping trip and have become very unimaginative about exploring their sensual pleasures. I don't know whether this is an illness, in the sense of a mental illness, but I think that it is a combination of disposable income, laziness, and conformity.

Answer 4

If the Romans too sought pleasure, then seeking it can hardly be said to be an illness of modern society as such. But to say of any given society that it 'seeks pleasure' is pretty trivial.

If you just have a problem with the whole idea of people looking for pleasure as opposed to something else, then you have a problem with what looks very much like human nature in general.

Answer 5

all species seek pleasure. It is not in itself a problem. The issue in our modern society is that we have so much choice of various pleasures and that we have developed a guilt about such pleasures. I think this is a new thing and am not aware (tho not very learned in this area) of any previous society which at least on the surface, cared so much about social issues in contrast to a hedonistic culture.

I dont think it is an illness but I can see why you say what you do.

Answer 6

Do you honestly think we are the only society to ever seek pleasure?! Do you think the roman's went to the ampitheatre to feel bad about what was happening to the poor Christians or indulged in orgies out of self loathing. As for those twisted Victorians and there strange bedroom antics and don't even get me started on the Eygptians and the temples of the virgins where they basically had what can only be described as a wankfest over these young ladies!

Anyway to answer your question...No!

Answer 7

Perhaps we do tend to be egoist in the fact we seek pleasure simple for our own means. I like to think I am more utilitarian in the fact I like to seek the greatest pleasure over pain for everyone involved. I also feel we should never simple use others as a means to our own ends as Kant would say. Pleasure can also be explained by Arisotle's balance between excess and deffieciency.

Answer 8

Pleasure-seeking is as old as time, certainly not unique to modern society. & I don't believe it's an illness. So long as your pleasure doesn't involve hurting anyone, what's wrong with it?! Surrender to hedonism! Life is to be enjoyed, not merely tolerated. Who says you have to deny yourself? Is there a certain nobility in ascetism, puritanism, denial of your wants & needs? People who deny themselves pleasure or don't know how to find it are the ones who end up angry, bitter & then attacking others because of their own misery and sense of lack.

Have an ice cream! Go for a walk in the woods. Enjoy life. Why do you think God gave us five senses if we weren't supposed to have fun with them?

Just a thought...

Answer 9

Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear (ataraxia) as well as absence of bodily pain (aponia) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest

He was around about 340BC so no, its not a modern thing

Answer 10

No the human race always sought pleasure but the way we seek it is very materialistic, we are losing the ability to find pleasure in the simple things in life, that cost nothing.
Being unable to find pleasure in the simple things in life causes stress, and that is a modern illness !!!!!!!!!!