We will therefore turn to the less ambitious question of what men themselves show by their behavior to be the purpose and intention of their lives. What do they demand of life and wish to achieve in it? The answer to this can hardly be in doubt. They strive for happiness; they want to become happy and to remain so. This endeavor has two sides, a positive and a negative aim. It aims, on the one hand, at an absence of pain and unpleasure, and, on the other, at the experiencing of strong feelings of pleasure. In its narrower sense the word 'happiness' only relates to the last. In conformity with this dichotomy in his aims, man's activity develops in two directions, according as it seeks to realize in the main, or even exclusively the one or the other of these aims.
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About Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud was a 19th-century founder of psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in the psyche, through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of mind and human agency derived from it. Read more on Wikipedia →
Themes
- Happiness — Thoughts on finding joy, contentment, and fulfilment
- Life — Reflections on the meaning, challenges, and beauty of life
- Philosophy — Deep thoughts on existence, knowledge, and the nature of reality