For Sigmund Freud, I do not think it is possible to be happy given the definitions and circumstances Freud puts forth as obtaining happiness. First of all, the pursuit of happiness, “aims, on the one hand, at an absence of pain and unpleasure, and, on the other, at the experiencing of strong feelings of pleasure.” (pg 42) Therefore, happiness is linked to pleasure and “what we call happiness in the strictest sense comes from the (preferably sudden) satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree, and it is from its nature only possible as an episodic phenomenon” (pg 42). Here, Freud is saying that to be truly happy, one must have their inner desires met, and this would only be possible on and off again, not continuously. Freud notes that is much easier to experience unhappiness than happiness because of so many factors and limitations that hinder our desires. When I look at my life today and question if I am truly happy, it is hard to answer because there are the obvious consumer goods, devices, and electronics that satisfy my materialistic wants, but I do not think much about my psychological wants and if they are truly met. Therefore, I guess it would be appropriate to say that my long-term happiness is in question. Freud says that men “moderate their claims to happiness-just as the pleasure principle itself, indeed, under the influence of the external world,-if a man thinks himself happy merely to have escaped unhappiness.”(pg 44) Given these circumstances, I do not think the individual would be truly happy because he/she would have to give up his/her current ideals of happiness in order to deal with internal or external sufferings. As Freud noted earlier in the chapter, happiness relates to “strong feelings of pleasure” (pg 42) not just merely avoiding situations that cause displeasure, because then, the individual would be settling for something less than what they had once hoped to achieve. In support of my earlier point about society having limitations, Freud makes an interesting point: “This contention holds that what we call our civilization is largely responsible for our misery, and that we should be much happier if we gave it up and returned to primitive conditions”(pg 58). It is ironic how we associate civilization and advanced knowledge as being the key to success, thus perhaps leading to an increased sense of happiness, but according to this passage, the opposite may be true. Even technological and scientific advancements and research have not contributed to making people happier. They are important milestones in human achievement, but have not increased the amount of pleasure experienced. In Civilizations and its Discontents, Freud suggests that external factors prevent people from achieving their inner desires; therefore, it is not possible to be happy.
Works Cited: Freud, Sigmund, James Strachey, and Peter Gay. Civilization and Its Discontents. New York: W.W. Norton, 1989. Print.
This is a strong analysis of Freud's ideas. To make this blog post even better, I would try to incorporate some concrete real-life examples (beyond those outlined by the documentary and Freud's text) in order to confirm or problematize this conception of happiness.
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