Modern humans have made tremendous progress, but it’s questionable whether we’re any happier than we were in the past. Advances in technology and economics have improved our quality of life, but they have also created new problems. The inequality of money and wealth, and the ethical issues that come with technological advancements, are hindering human happiness. Will future technologies, especially eternal life, make us happier? We need to think about whether humanity, which has developed in the face of scarcity, will be able to find happiness in an infinite amount of time.
Humanity has made tremendous progress. We have developed and evolved in our own right. From a simple primate to the current Homo sapiens, evolution has brought about tremendous changes. But have we become happier as a result of all this progress and change? We’d like to take a look at this question. Bipedal, tool-wielding humans are better equipped to deal with danger than the ape-like species that preceded them. As they became smarter and smarter, they were able to make weapons and farm, leading to a more abundant and stable life. Were they happier? Today, we’re producing at a level of productivity that’s dwarfed by that time. So, are we happier than they were? Let’s look to the future. We’re going to move into the next world with a lot of technology. With the advancement of science and technology, we may be able to achieve eternal life. But will you be happy? What is happiness, and will you be happy if humanity advances and achieves eternal life? Let’s think about it together.
Humanity has evolved, but why? What problem was it trying to solve? These needs have allowed humanity to develop and have brought us to where we are today. The dictionary definition of progress is “to advance to a better or higher state or stage”. The idea is to move toward a better state because the previous state is problematic or uncomfortable. If you think about the meaning of the word ‘progress’, shouldn’t humanity have become better and happier throughout its history? Now, let me ask you: Are you happy now? Are you happy now, and do you think you’re any happier than humanity was decades or centuries ago?
What do we need to consider when thinking about this question? The first thing to consider is the context in which humanity has been able to feel happy. Happiness is defined in the dictionary as “a feeling of sufficient satisfaction and joy in life. So, first of all, when are you happy? When you pass a test, when you play a game, when you hang out with friends, when you study late at night in the library, etc. Of course, there are individual differences in happiness. But what about humans in the past? Let’s take the agricultural life as an example. They probably felt happy when they were relaxing, enjoying leisure, and celebrating festivals. Based on this comparison, there seems to be little difference between modern humans and their daily lives and, by extension, their happiness.
What is the biggest reason why modern humans are not happy or unhappy? I think it is the difference between money and wealth. In the past, humans only bartered and then created currency and money. I wonder if the concept of ‘wealth’ and ‘money’ created and developed in this way has made humans happy for thousands of years. To an individual, this thing called “wealth” must be quite a nuisance. I think a lot of people have been unhappy because of this concept. Especially in a world where you can’t do what you want without money. The modern human race is killing its own happiness with the concept of wealth. Why? Because it’s unfair. Can this problem be solved? And can humanity be happy?
Humanity has always progressed, and there are always problems of the time, which can make people less happy or unhappy. But will future humans be happier than us? I don’t think so. Will the inequality of “wealth” disappear as technology improves? I don’t think so. In fact, the technology of the future, even the technology of immortality, will not be equitable for everyone.
A common characteristic in the past and present is that individuals derive happiness not from doing things for their own survival, but from filling in gaps. It’s the same with progress. There is a lack of something, and we find happiness in that lack. Heidegger argued that happiness is possible because we have a finite amount of time. Anxiety is what creates happiness. Humanity has been happy because it has lacked something and has been able to make progress. In the future, humanity will continue to develop for its own happiness. But it would be a different story if that progress were eternal life. In an infinite time instead of a finite time, with no lack, no reason to develop, no goal, only the future, humanity will never be happy.
New problems will also emerge from that progress. The same is true for humanity today. We think that the technologies we think will be developed will make us happy, so it is very natural that these technologies are coming. The same is true for eternal life. However, this is because it is a problem that living beings have not been able to overcome so far: overcoming death. So, can humanity be happy with this technology?
Imagine you’re in a body that lives forever. What would you do? By extension, what will humanity do when most of us are immortalized? Humanity will no longer be in charge of production. Would we then be free to spend all that extra time pursuing what we’ve been talking about as “happiness”? We don’t know the future, so we try to predict it. There are many problems that will arise after eternal life technology. First of all, there is the issue of human population growth. If humans enjoy eternal life, there will be more and more of us. The earth is limited, and resources are limited. If the technology of eternal life and immortality is unfair, there will be even more problems. In addition to these practical issues, there are also many ethical issues. Aside from these practical issues, there are also ethical issues. Eternal life with all these problems would lead directly to eternal suffering. Eternal life will never bring happiness.
The idea of eternal life is certainly attractive to those who are near death or fear death. However, the pursuit of eternal life through technological advancement will only make many people unhappy if it cannot solve many of our modern problems. We have constantly thought that technological advancement will not bring happiness, but rather a life that is not lacking, but rather aimless and boring, far from happiness. So I think this way. I think that even if mankind were to attain eternal life, it would not bring happiness, but rather cause many problems and cause many people to suffer. As for me, I don’t think I would be happy if I had eternal life either.
Now we should have a deeper discussion based on these thoughts. We should think about whether the development of humanity and the progress of technology really brings happiness or just creates new problems. We also need to think about how individual happiness and social happiness can be reconciled. We need to recognize that progress doesn’t always bring positive outcomes, and find ways to find true happiness in the midst of it. We shouldn’t forget that while humanity has made progress, we’ve also lost a lot of things along the way.
In the end, what we should be striving for is not the unconditional advancement of technology, but the advancement in a direction that makes human life truly rich and happy. This is a comprehensive concept that goes beyond mere material abundance and includes mental stability, social harmony, and coexistence with nature. It is of utmost importance to consider these factors in setting the direction of humanity’s future.
Human history has been a series of endless challenges and overcomes. Along the way, we have made many achievements, but we have also faced many problems. It is time to soberly analyze our achievements and problems, and truly set the direction in which we should go. For the true happiness of mankind, we will have to think deeply about what we need to do, what direction we need to take, and make wise choices.
