Name: Nietzsche - You Can't Have Pleasure Without Pain
Uploaded: 2021-08-27T18:25:06.000Z
Duration: 9 min 43 s
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In The Joyful Science, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “but what if pleasure and displeasure

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were so tied together that whoever wanted to have as much as possible of one must also

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have as much as possible of the other—that whoever wanted to learn to 'jubilate up

to the heavens' would also have to be prepared for 'depression unto death'?

In my opinion, that is one of Nietzsche's sharpest insights: pleasure and pain are inseparable.

As usual, I'm gonna explore this idea through a dialogue.

--- A rich man (R) spent the majority of his life

chasing things, and at the age of 40, he finally had everything he wanted: millions of dollars,

exotic cars, designer clothes, a big home, a high-status position at a large company,

You may think it's weird that I placed his wife among a group of objects that one acquires,

but for this man, that was how he viewed his wife: a thing to be acquired.

Ever since he was a boy, the man had a mental checklist: get a well-respected job, make

a lot of money, get a beautiful wife, and the end result is happiness.

But at the age of 40, after decades of hard work, after acquiring all he set out to acquire,

after getting everything he wanted, he realized he was no happier than when he started.

The sudden realization that he was no happier than when he started threw him into a psychological

All that hard work and what did he have to show for it?

And the toys hadn't brought the lasting happiness he had hoped for.

He quit his job the very next day, and for weeks, he refused to get out of bed.

His wife prepared his meals and brought several doctors to the house to help her husband.

“There's no point to anything,” said the rich man to each doctor.

Needless to say, the doctors were unsuccessful in helping him.

Eventually, the rich man reached a breaking point.

When his wife was out to get food, the man left a note on the kitchen counter and walked

On the way to his destination, he saw the same street performer he had seen everyday

The street performer wore tattered clothes and played the guitar on the sidewalks.

But even so, this man was smiling and full of joy everyday.

The rich man clenched his fists and walked towards the street performer (S).

Hardly anyone listens to you play your guitar, you have no home, no friends, no money, no

clothes, no status, and you're coughing up blood for goodness sakes.

S: Ahh yes, I thought you looked familiar.

You probably have a nice home, a beautiful family, lots of money, nice cars, and a lot

Probably because everything is pointless and meaningless.

Trust me: I've been chasing these things for 40 years.

Once I got a million dollars, I wanted two.

Once I got a home, I wanted a bigger home.

Once I got one car, I wanted a faster car.

I kept thinking these things would make me happy, but they don't.

When you've gotten as far as I have, you realize that everything is pointless and meaningless.

S: Here, listen to this song on my guitar.

Why bother with all this talk about meaning and meaninglessness.

S: What's with you and always wanting to achieve something or acquire something?

And now you think I have something, and you want to chase that.

I may not have all the things you have, but I can tell you something you've never heard.

S: You think happiness comes from chasing things, but let me tell you something: the

You think happiness is a state of continuous pleasure, but that doesn't exist.

Pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin called desire.

Pleasure comes from getting what you desire, but desiring something means that you don't

And realizing that you don't have something you want is painful.

So as long as you're chasing something, as long as you're desiring something, you'll

feel both pain and pleasure in equal measures.

You'll feel pain as long as you don't have the thing, you'll feel pleasure when

you get it, then you'll adjust to having it and feel nothing, and then you'll start

You should see by now that happiness does not come from this process.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Nietzsche - You Can't Have Pleasure Without Pain

depression

majority

appreciate

realize