With great power comes great responsibility, and it seems as though the human race has one fundamental flaw: when one is given power, the sense of responsibility seems to become lost.

 

 

 

We all understand that power corrupts. However, the human race has a desire to be in charge and stand above the rest. Power is essentially the root of all evil, but it's a double-edged sword, really - I don't think I really need to explain my reasoning of why I feel this way. In an ideal world, power would be equally shared amongst all; but this simply cannot work because of human greed.

 

 

 

However, a powerless society is completely unfathomable. If there were to be nobody superior to the rest of us, we would simply end up even more miserable.

I think humans as they are now are inherently unhappy creatures. It's possible that over millions of years that evolution might balance our brain chemistry more correctly, but as it stands, the characteristics that make us dominant also make us miserable. Intelligence has a terrible price.

 

 

 

I would replace "evolution" with "science" in your sentence (and hopefully fewer than "millions of years"). I'd say that the greatest cause of misery is evolution and the general world of survival of the fittest - and I don't think that evolution will ever change that. The best way I can conceive of humanity rising above its hard and bloody evolutionary history is to firstly understand it, then reject it as being inevitable, and finally to overcome it. I'd say we're currently working on Stage 1.

No one in this thread, including myself, will ever be able to answer such a question.

 

 

 

We're either to emotionally inclined to answer, or conditioned too much by todays descriptions and appeals to the words we'd use to say why we're miserable or feel miserable or at least think we are miserable.

 

 

 

Basically our intelligence has been groomed but been injected with too many ideas on what is good and what is bad, or what morals even are to answer such a question.

 

 

 

Majority of you say negative things like greed, but is it not happiness that spawns greed? If one person is happy, then someone else must be envious or jealous about their happiness, because they won't be able to achieve whatever made that person happy. Thus they desire for that void that they think will bring them happiness if they fill. Thus comes the different routes in which you can achieve whatever to fill the void. Greed, power, money...etc.

 

 

 

Human misery in my opinion is thinking too small to understand why we feel misery.

 

 

 

I don't believe we have found the answer yet in the cosmos to fully understand ourselves, our planet, and the universe and whatever else is out there that truly affects whatever it is that we are.

 

 

 

If we ever catch a glimpse of whatever this is, then we'll have a further understanding of ourselves and how we're interacting with the universe, and then we'll be able to ask such insignificant questions as "Greatest misery to humans".

 

 

 

Just my thoughts on basically every single question that tries to pinpoint an exact and elegant answer, when it will never be a single or elegant answer.

 

 

 

I hate when people pull the objective/subjective type argument in attempts to totally nullify the opinion of others, it happens quite often.

 

 

 

Human misery is a perceptive emotion, we declare things as miserable, they aren't just objectively miserable. So the very reason I made this thread comes to relevance: to share the perceptive opinions of our views on humanity and where we, as individuals, think the greatest cause of misery lies.

 

 

 

We invented the word, have the right to define it and give opinions on it. If we take your path and wait to ask philosophical, anthropological, or sociological questions only when humans as a whole "understand themselves" as you put it, then what is the point of asking questions at all. There is no "understanding" that can be grasped that would remove some giant intellectual handicap from the human race, questions are made the be answered. No need for such excessive attempts to find an objective purpose, answer or meaning behind anything in the natural world.

Greed.

 

Greed is what makes us sad, because why do we get sad? because something didn't work out the way we wanted it to, or because we didn't get something we wanted, or because something is out of our reach, and we want it, but we can't have it. That's why we as a race are sad.

 

We always want what we can't have, there are always things that are out of our reach, and we want them, but we can't have them, and it upsets us. We're all [bleep]ing pathetic.

I'd say desire/greed. Not only do we sometimes make ourselves miserable just so we can get something, but we also feel miserable when we don't get what we want.

 

However, desire/greed would be the greatest cause of human happiness as well. I don't think there's anything that makes anyone happier than success of any kind.

 

[/pseudophilosophy]

I'd say desire/greed. Not only do we sometimes make ourselves miserable just so we can get something, but we also feel miserable when we don't get what we want.

 

However, desire/greed would be the greatest cause of human happiness as well. I don't think there's anything that makes anyone happier than success of any kind.

 

[/pseudophilosophy]

 

That's just the thing, all of the stuff that causes unhappiness causes happiness too, and that often makes it worth it.

Desires and opinions.

 

 

 

This world is stuck in a 'survival of the fittest' manner. This causes a lot of suffering and hatred. I don't really know if it's even possible to break this chain, but all we can do is hope.

The primary human notion of happiness. It's psychological equilibrium. If we try to make ourselves happier, we take the results of our attempts for granted and become no happier than if we had never tried to make a difference. It's no wonder we feel miserable.

The depletion of serotonin?

 

Money.

In a general sense?

 

 

 

Probably the fact no matter what you're interested in, or how much you practice/learn something there will ALWAYS be someone who does it better than you.

Personally, and as many people pointed out previously (but few elaborated on why they think so), is desire. One of my favorite religions I studied--Buddhism--has it nicely done:

 

 

 

1) Life leads to suffering no matter what.

 

2) Suffering is caused by attachment--or craving, or desire--to/for/of material goods and emotions.

 

3) When this attachment ends, the person who ended is free from this world's suffering.

 

4) In order to reach this path, do things that Buddha taught.

 

 

 

If you noticed it as the Four Noble Truths, good job! :)

 

 

 

Number four may cause a stir for those not enlightened on the Buddha's teachings, but what can one do? Anyway, that's a bit off-topic.

 

 

 

edit: I would like to say I'm not trying to turn this into a religious discussion; I'm just saying why I believe it's desire.

When people think they will be happy after certain goals are met, then when they get them they always make new goals and decide they will be happy after they get those.

As Buddha says

 

1) All human life is suffering

 

2) All suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent.

 

3) Human suffering can be ended by ending human desire.

 

4) Desire can be ended by following the "Eightfold Noble Path": right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: !!!!!!! Didn't see the guy above me got to it first, my bad.

My answer is stressors; the reason being life satisfaction and stress are strongly correlated.

 

 

 

I'd also say perception; you choose how to feel in this moment.

My answer is stressors; the reason being life satisfaction and stress are strongly correlated.

 

 

 

I'd also say perception; you choose how to feel in this moment.

 

I haven't seen you in a while goddess, where you been?

 

I still go with greed being the major cause, and a lack of cookies in the cookie jar.

Greed. Greed for power and money. Power corrupts, money also corrupts, the human brain tends to be more miserable when some sort of goal is achieved.

(my-space-bar-is-broken)

 

Well,-recent-experience-has-taught-me-that-Desire-is-the-greatest-cause-of-misery-to-me---

 

I've-been-near-tears-for-2-days-now---

I'd also say perception; you choose how to feel in this moment.

 

 

 

Wait, weren't you the one who disagreed with me when I said that on the suicide thread? I'm not trying to call you out or anything - just confused.

The greatest cause of human misery is human's attempt to conquer nature (note that humans are a part of nature)

 

 

 

Read Survival in Auschwitz and We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families for more info

 

and read Adorno's On Dying Today and Simone Weil's The Iliad or poem of force

 

 

 

 

 

People create systems of destruction and then perpetuate them through their indifference. The result is human misery

Hahaha! Easy! Stupidity. Many people are too stupid to know what is good for them, and if they do have that knowledge, they lack the self-discipline to act upon it.

Hahaha! Easy! Stupidity. Many people are too stupid to know what is good for them, and if they do have that knowledge, they lack the self-discipline to act upon it.

 

stupidity=ignorance (generally)

 

ignorance=bliss.

Religion.

I'd say the greater cause of human misery would be loneliness.

In the beginning, the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea.

 

:twss:

 

 

 

Imo, religion.

The greatest cause of human misery is human's attempt to conquer nature (note that humans are a part of nature)

 

 

 

Read Survival in Auschwitz and We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families for more info

 

and read Adorno's On Dying Today and Simone Weil's The Iliad or poem of force

 

 

 

 

 

People create systems of destruction and then perpetuate them through their indifference. The result is human misery

 

 

 

 

 

This is the answer

 

/thread