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Saint
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This world is full of misery and agony, does it make us to be a stronger person? Without misery, does it mean we can not know what is happiness?
Originally posted by Saint
Sad thing is misery can overcome a person's will of living and resort to committing suicide.
Originally posted by Saint
This world is full of misery and agony, does it make us to be a stronger person?
Without misery, does it mean we can not know what is happiness?
Intresting reading wuli, I agree.Originally posted by wuliheron
Misery is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation to environmental pressures. For example, depression is speculated to be among other things a means of encouraging wounded animals to seek out a quiet place, rest, and lick their wounds. In addition, negative feelings like misery, guilt, etc. may work to balance or moderate other emotions like anger to discourage dangerous behavior.
Of course, subjectively we might say it certainly seems like overkill, but we could say the same thing for physical pain. Why does it have to hurt so much when we get a stupid sun burn much less a serious wound? The answer seems to be, this is simply what promotes survival of the species.
As you suggest, our capactity for reasoning and consciousness themselves may also be dependent upon our emotional lives. Our emotions give us contexts which abstract thought and reasoning may ultimately be based on. This has some evidence to support it, but a great deal more research needs to be done on the subject.
Originally posted by drag
Greetings !
Intresting reading wuli, I agree.
In light of the above, would you say that the apparent (?)
growth of misery in modern societies reflective of the
assumed by the individual modern standards of survival -
life style ?
Live long and prosper.
I don't believe that answered my question. I wasOriginally posted by wuliheron
Studies among lottery winners have indicated, as you might expect, that after an initial high they might return to somewhat normal levels of happiness, but in the long run maintain a benefit in longevity. In this same vein, Buddhists who practice meditation have been shown to have more activity in the frontal lobes. These two extremes, of searching for external support and internal support, has their distinctive advantages and disadvantages. Exactly what they might be is a matter of extensive research dating back to antiquity.
Originally posted by drag
I don't believe that answered my question. I was
refering to the seemingly relativly growing misery
in modern societies compared to other societies in the past
(due to factors like greater population and greater population
density as well as much greater legislative control over
the population in modern societies and also, primarily -
like you said in your message, due to survival and its
seemingly more standarized and limmited perspective of
modern time - a high level material life-style).
Or, I'll shortly rephrase that again - according to what you
said about misery serving a role in survival. Do you think
that the seemingly growing level of misery today is reflective
of what we consider as modern survival ?
Also, do you think that this misery may be a prime factor
in possible radical changes in modern societies of the future ?
Live long and prosper.
Originally posted by Tiberius
The world is also full of happiness, joy, and goodness - people just don't like to acknowledge, remember, or appreciate that part of life.
Without the capacity to suffer, we wouldn't have the capacity to be happy, neither would we know the difference. The key is in dicovering what that happiness is (in relation to suffering), in order that we might work towards its fulfillment.Originally posted by Saint
This world is full of misery and agony, does it make us to be a stronger person? Without misery, does it mean we can not know what is happiness?