You guys keep telling me I am depressed, sooner or later I will even believe it :) Seriously, put yourself into the shoes of say a blue collar guy 100 years ago in the first world. He must eat. Hence he must work. 14 hours a day. And that pretty much described all. Having a life not driven by necessities is pretty big a privilege. Why would we consider the opposite of it depression instead of normal? Or look at animals, they do everything because they must. Only humans really choose. To me being driven by necessities is pretty normal and I don’t really understand why should it be a mental illness. It’s just the lack of luxury basically.
But, yes, it is not really the happiest ways to live, sure, and I think about the essence of your comment it is so that things on the low and and the high end can look very similar when described with words. When you look at the actual experience such as when how much joy people’s faces radiate then not.
I don’t know why but the low end superficially similar to the high type of heuristic works surprisingly well in many human things. For example alpha males don’t chase women, they let them chased by them, beta males chase women, gamma males don’t chase women because they think they are unworthy for their love.
I too don’t know why does this heuristic work but it does. I think it is something like, non-climbers don’t climb mountains, climbers who have already climbed the mountain and are on top don’t climb it either, so it is superficially similar non-climbing, and those climbers who have not yet climbed it are climbing. Or healthy people don’t get healing medical treatments, people dying also don’t really healing treatments just palliative ones, people who are ill but have hope healing get healing treatments. You could lack desires because you are too unhappy or because you are too happy. Something like that.
Also note that you’re coming from the region tainted with Weber’s Protestant work ethic X-)
being driven by necessities is pretty normal and I don’t really understand why should it be a mental illness
Depression isn’t about being driven by necessities. In this particular context “not having desires” is the important part. I understand that from the Buddhist point of view that’s entirely backwards :-)
You guys keep telling me I am depressed, sooner or later I will even believe it :) Seriously, put yourself into the shoes of say a blue collar guy 100 years ago in the first world. He must eat. Hence he must work. 14 hours a day. And that pretty much described all. Having a life not driven by necessities is pretty big a privilege. Why would we consider the opposite of it depression instead of normal? Or look at animals, they do everything because they must. Only humans really choose. To me being driven by necessities is pretty normal and I don’t really understand why should it be a mental illness. It’s just the lack of luxury basically.
But, yes, it is not really the happiest ways to live, sure, and I think about the essence of your comment it is so that things on the low and and the high end can look very similar when described with words. When you look at the actual experience such as when how much joy people’s faces radiate then not.
I don’t know why but the low end superficially similar to the high type of heuristic works surprisingly well in many human things. For example alpha males don’t chase women, they let them chased by them, beta males chase women, gamma males don’t chase women because they think they are unworthy for their love.
I too don’t know why does this heuristic work but it does. I think it is something like, non-climbers don’t climb mountains, climbers who have already climbed the mountain and are on top don’t climb it either, so it is superficially similar non-climbing, and those climbers who have not yet climbed it are climbing. Or healthy people don’t get healing medical treatments, people dying also don’t really healing treatments just palliative ones, people who are ill but have hope healing get healing treatments. You could lack desires because you are too unhappy or because you are too happy. Something like that.
No, I don’t think so. See e.g. this.
Also note that you’re coming from the region tainted with Weber’s Protestant work ethic X-)
Depression isn’t about being driven by necessities. In this particular context “not having desires” is the important part. I understand that from the Buddhist point of view that’s entirely backwards :-)