Freud's Civilization and its Discontent topic 1 (REVISED!)

In life, is happiness even possible to be achieved while living through our mistakes and successes? I have often pondered this myself. Many would simply agree that life is only lived for people to be happy. Previously, I would have agreed with this statement but after reading Freud’s novel my views on life have been changed and have possibly confused my point of view even further.

Happiness can simply be defined as people having good fortune or simply being happy or joyful. Unfortunately, the only problem with the fact that people only live to pursue happiness and to remain so, many are very desperate to be in this state of mind and may sacrifice other parts of their life to be happy. This statement is supported when Freud writes “[people] seek power, success and wealth for themselves and […] underestimate what is of true value in life” (pg 23). Most people, in order to achieve their happiness, must be able to know what it feels like to be unhappy, which may or may not aid them to achieve what they desire most. So with people trying their best to achieve what they wish to accomplish in life, this leaves me to wonder is it really possible for people to attain full happiness. Freud’s friend writes to him about what he believes happiness is; “a feeling of something limitless, unbounded" (pg 24). Although Freud does not seem to believe in the same, he writes about it anyways.

To say I was merely confused by Freud’s writings would be an understatement. But through that confusion I was able to comprehend that Freud thinks that happiness is mainly attained through the enjoyment of beauty, which undoubtedly becomes a source of pleasure. Many believe that it has become more difficult for people to compare the happiness of people from an earlier era because it was essentially a biased emotion. In Freud’s view, civilization on the whole takes a massive toll on the happiness of an individual.

So can people really obtain the happiness they strive for in life? Many people never really think about the future, it is assumed that happiness is something we all strive for and unhappiness is never nearby. This is supported when Freud writes that “[people feel] inclined to say that the intention that man should be ‘happy’ is not included in the plan of ‘Creation’” (pg 43). However, the sad fact is both happiness and unhappiness are equally reachable. Unfortunately, unhappiness does not seem to require a lot of effort to achieve whereas happiness seems to be miles away from where we are. Although unhappiness is close enough for us to touch, achieving happiness is ultimately what we seek to achieve in our lives but what happens when you achieve that happiness, can you ultimately stay happy for the rest of your life?

Happiness, for many, is an important feeling to achieve in their lifetime because that feeling you have when you get something right after many attempts prior is one of the greatest feelings in the world. This feeling is ultimately what people strive for and wish for that feeling to live in their memory forever. However in my lifetime, I hope that I will be able to achieve what makes me happy and I hope that I will be able to hold onto that satisfying feeling and enjoy my life. Like most people, if not all people, I will live my life out searching for that ultimate feeling of success and happiness.