2007-09-25 06:18:41 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Did it ever make anybody happy?
There is a theory that happiness consists in having wants & needs satisfied. I don't think this works. In a situation where all your desires were instantly & automatically met (food, clothes, money, sex, shelter) I don't think you'd be happy - you'd be bored.
Happiness, if it comes, is the result of a fine balance between effort, achievement & contentment. It's not easy to define or to plan for. People don't even agree on the meaning of the word.
2007-09-25 10:11:52 · answer #1 · answered by Michael B 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is more a matter of having too much. If you have to save money for a long time to buy something you really want then when you get that thing it means so much. But it is so easy to have everything so easily now as pro rata our earnings are high and credit is easy so then the pleasure becomes valueless. Money isn't everything. I now live by the motto - "The Earth has music for those who listen" ... it's all out there and the best is free
2007-09-25 06:35:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The point isn't about having more - it's about having. Possessing things never made us happy because, though we may not realise it,we never crave particular objects,but what they can bring,the states of mind they produce. Your question contains the answer in itself: if having more doesn't make us happy,it's because that's not the way. Don't ask for the one way to happiness,though. Since it means different things for different people,there are plenty of different ways to get it - or,at least,pursue it. Start your own chase!
2007-09-27 02:11:54 · answer #3 · answered by margarida c 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having more never did make us happy hence we just want more. The problem or solution never lay in the accumulation but in the material matter itself. Once you have something it loses value and you always want more. Boils down to material stuff can't really make yopu happy if you not happy without it.
2007-09-25 06:41:58 · answer #4 · answered by Cube 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because it is n o t what makes people happy. Yep, there is a kind of yearning toward more comforts, chattels, &c., but the more you appropriate the more voracious you may become - at least, man's innate feelings, the naive values and genuine wishes fade away and such fellow mainly waxes stiff and indifferent.
2007-09-26 18:48:41 · answer #5 · answered by Gordon B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because having everything or more doesnt make you satisfied. You can have all and be absolutely miserable. You can have nothing and be satisfied. I think the goal in life is to be satisfied. To answer your quesiton, we are being brought up to think that having THINGS make us happy. And as we get older we have soon to realize how far from the truth this really is. You honestly have to want what you have, not have what you want.
2007-09-25 06:44:16 · answer #6 · answered by LNP 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because more often that not we misconceive what we want for what we actually need, there is a difference. The more we want the more likely we are to become unfulfilled because we
become materialistic and never truly satisfied. If we look at what we NEED we understand the deeper understanding of
the simplicity of life's basic needs. We need water, food, love shelter etc... Its the difference between spiritual or materialistic thinking ?
2007-09-25 06:33:40 · answer #7 · answered by Tickerbiller 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We have hit the plateau as far as having goes. It has become easy and there is no challenge. We have also learned that having more STUFF is not behind the meaning of happiness. Our consumer driven society isn't fulfilling anymore.
2007-09-25 07:58:29 · answer #8 · answered by laura seeks the Kwisatz Haderach 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Having more then we need and hanging on to it, and wanting more is greed. Having more than we need and helping others, and still making more will make us more contented at doing good, and better about ourselves, which will make us feel happy!
2007-09-25 23:42:31 · answer #9 · answered by Thia 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's what the more is. I guess it come's down to quality not quantity. You can own seven homes but only live in one. You can own thirty lcd television's but still can only view the same crap.
2007-09-25 06:36:06 · answer #10 · answered by Bane 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋