Do you believe that the human being is incapable of the emotion of satisfaction, of contentment?

It has been said that human beings and their desires are endless, it drives us , whips us ahead mercilessly , drives us to get, to try to get, more and more than what we have. But as soon as it is ours discontentment forces us to rise again ...What do you think about this??

Do you believe that the human being is incapable of the emotion of satisfaction, of contentment?
You are talking of Gautama Buddha's premise in the 4 Noble Truths.


Jesus said "Consider the lilies..." matthew 6.28


When you get these lessons you can put your attention on what is best for all and your desire becomes "desireless desire".
Reply:Why ask in the philosophy section then? Report Abuse

Reply:if you keep thinking about how to live, you'll never do it.





prometheus did give man fire. he didnt just think about what would happen if he did.





go to a barns n' nobles or how ever you spell it and meet sumbody new.
Reply:i think it depends on what it is like a cd or something material. but when its love or God or of the sort i think we are content. Once it is real and true.
Reply:I think there are plenty of cultures around the world that show this idea to be a lie. In many traditional cultures, cooperation, sustainability and modesty are treasured values and while greed may exist in some pockets, it is not exhalted as it is in our culture.





These lies of competition, ownership and domination really foul our minds and create a world where simple living is looked on as an aberation. I remember watching a part of an Oprah show on how people can do well without credit or a lot of money.





One guy featured had a modest job, single dad, and had bought a small home, an older car, and older boat. Because the luxuries were small and old the audience actually laughed at the video presentation. That was a perfect representation of the point I'm trying to make, it isn't that people inherently can't be satisfied or content, it that we as a society have been sold a bill of goods that is b.s. The societal pressure causes us to be miserable with less. This is all towards the enrichment of a select few.





Peace
Reply:i think we can.... but only for a moment....





the earliest account of Human dissatisfaction


is the trite story of Adam %26amp; Eve..


most people believe it's disobedience that sent them packing out of Paradise..


i contend it.. for a form of punishment shouldnt be as good as FREEDOM to roam the Earth.


maybe, as to my own analysis..


God has thought of Human's biggest Flaw...


that we will never be happy of what we have(either it's given or acquired)... our insatiability.


For God gave us Eden, a paradise... but it's never enough..


we want the tree of knowledge... we might want the Tree of Life- so we're banished....


Since God Fear what else we could do... i wonder if our dissatisfaction is bad or actually a good thing.





i do not know what drives us to want more...


maybe because we know that nothing really lasts Forever..


that the same reason we are Happy now..


could leave us alone %26amp; miserable tomorrow..





that's what the creator has that we Humans dont have..


he was contented of his work %26amp; rested on the 7th day..


We? We might just end up searching.. looking.....longing for the rest of ourlives.
Reply:Experience has demonstrated to me that human beings are capable of anything within the realm of human thought and imagination. I have found what drives most people are basic instincts. These drives are desguised in various ways in order to protect ourselves from the reality that most of us will lie, steal and cheat to get what we want. Most of us are incapaple of reason beyond bigotry. And the moral center, which most of us present to the world is obstensible at best. There are very few of us who are really willing to drink the hemlock(i.e. Socrates and his demonstation of the most fundamental rule of philosophy: whay it is we ought not to lie.) Most of our understandin and practice of faith, hope and charity are perfunctory at best. Most of us are lazy and lack the will to have any meaningful conviction to live life on it's own terms as it comes. The majority of our lives are caught up in trying to control things, which we really have no control over. We rationalize our ineptitude with philosophy, psychology and "problems of modern life". Give our own devices, most of us wouldn't last 5 minutes in a world without electricity. Although 98 % of us have no functional idea on how it works.
Reply:I am a living example of a human who is satisfied and contained with what I have. If you send me a $100.00 bill I will send it back to you.
Reply:No, the wise man is temperate and keeps his desires in control. Plato uses the image of a good charioteer with two horses one spirited and a little hard to manage, and the other steady and strong. It is the job of the wise charioteer to keeps his steeds in good order and the chariot on the track.
Reply:Contentment is possible, although even when it is achieved it has a paradoxical quality to it.





Contentment is the feeling of mastery that comes over us before a problem is mastered. On a trivial scale, consider three crossword puzzles. One is much too complicated for me, involving recondite cultural and historical allusions and a greater vocabulary than I possess. I might try it anyway, but the feeling I'll have while I'm working on it is called frustration.





The second puzzle is much too easy, too childish, and I whip through it easily, thoroughly bored.





The third puzzle, though, is in the Goldilocks condition. It is just right. Accessible given my education and vocabulary, but difficult nonetheless. While I work on this puzzle, there comes a time when I'm clearly making progress, I see completion coming near -- that is when I am content. Of course, once the spaces are all filled in I lose interest again.
Reply:yes it is possible I have met people that have no emotions and they are never satisfied about anything. I keep away from them they send negative vibes.
Reply:Contentment is intrinsically connected to comfort. Yes,


it is possible to feel satisfied, but how soon do we feel


guilty for the content. Consider the luxury of comfort


and the expense of the comfort and it isn't surprising that


guilt can take hold. In the past, I would look forward to the


finish line of my goals and when I completed those goals


I was more often than not let down by the lack of reward/


recognition. I was reinforcing myself to work lazily because


I didn't want to consider the expectations lost. My salvation


was to stop envisioning finish lines; there is no deadline.


Instead, I envision check points at smaller intervals in which


I indulge my curiosity. If anyone should offer me a reward


for which I am unaware of the source I should refuse the


reward as nonsense. The nonsense reward can only


motivate me to think that I must meet some deadline


which can only have a negative impact on the quality


of my work. Therefore, I took my contentment and motivation


into my own hands that way I can ensure that I will receive


the level of comfort which I deserve. Beware of satisfaction,


it leads to guilt and a feeling of insurmountable debt, and


beyond that what is one more debt on the road of laziness.


In my opinion, contentment alone does not drive us because


comfort for most people does not include an exertion of effort.


Therefore, the motivator of contentment must reinforce people


to look forward to being lazy, but why would someone who


wants to be lazy look forward to being lazy when they can


be lazy in the present and just pretend to be active.


In my opinion, the description to the question you provided


describes enthusiasm and not contentment; enthusiasm


is contra-content, but I wouldn't go so far as to label it


as discontent. I think sometimes enthusiasm can be


mistaken for discontent. The difference being that one


is positive and the other is negative. In my opinion, the lack of


contentment as an opportunity is enthusiasm, and the lack of


contentment as a burden is discontent.


I think enthusiasm is what drives people to enjoy


participation in activity. If I am truly satisfied with my


profession then I should be somewhat put out that


I have to leave the workplace at the end of the day.


I think discontent can only drive people so long as the


burden is present and unavoidable; as a form of negative


reinforcement.
Reply:I think it makes the desire to look around, and treasure what you have, rather than worry about the things that you don't - that much more precious.





I agree that we are given desires to drive us, to strive to do more - in part by our cultures, in part by our designer. But I also think that we are all perfectly capable of determining that we have 'enough' and focus on enjoying what we have rather than strive for more.





Besides - he who dies with the most toys, is still dead.
Reply:What you're talking about are two sicknesses of the soul, greed and gluttony. We combat these demons with spirituality.
Reply:No, if I want to feel satisfied/contented, I'l go right ahead and do just that :). Just because 'it has been said' doesn't mean you can't.
Reply:The living organism doesn't know what any of that is or means. You are told by society that these things are important. None of it helps you live and your body has no need for any of it. You as a living organism survive and procreate and need nothing else. That may not be what society sees as contentment.