“Man is an animal that can get what he wants, but he cannot stop wanting.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
Golden sentence of the chapter: “Sometimes what tires us is not not having; it is not wanting.”
1. The beginning of the speech | The never-ending cycle
Imagine a young man who has dreamed of getting into a good university for years. He studies late at night, misses out on fun, misses out on sleep, and repeats to himself every day: “If I get accepted, everything will be fine.” Finally, the results of the entrance exam come, he gets accepted, and for a few weeks he is grateful for this success. But not for long. Slowly, a new concern arises: “What should I do to find a good job after graduation?”
The years of university pass. He graduates. He finds a good job. He enjoys this success for a few months. But again, not for long. Now it’s time for housing: “So, a house of his own? I have to save, borrow, own a house.” After a few years of hard work, he buys a house. Again, short-lived happiness. Now it’s time for a car: “My car is old, I need to replace it.” After another few years, he buys a new car. But this time, the happiness is even shorter than before.
And so the cycle continues: more income, higher social status, more financial security, more luxurious trips, a higher education degree, and a thousand more “mores.” Every time he achieves one desire, another one rises up and says in a familiar tone: “Now it’s my turn.”
But this is not just the story of the previous generation. Today’s generation experiences a different cycle. All we have to do is post on social media. Yesterday we wanted a thousand people to see it. Today, when a thousand people have seen it, ten thousand seems like too few. If ten thousand people see it, we want a hundred thousand. It’s as if the numbers are getting bigger, but the feeling of satisfaction isn’t. Followers, likes, a new phone, a trip taken, going viral, and still “more.” The cycle has changed, but its essence is the same.
None of his desires—whether in the old story or in today’s story—were wrong. Each one had meaning and value in its place. But the question is: why wasn’t any of them the last desire? Why does this cycle never end? Why is “achieving” one goal always a “new beginning” for “wanting” the next?
Maybe this isn’t just the story of a particular young man. This may be the story of many of us. We live in a cycle that every time we think we have escaped, we realize that we have only entered the next stage of the same cycle. We seek satisfaction, but the more we run after it, the further we seem to get away from it.
And this is exactly where this subsection begins its journey. Not to say that “desire is bad” or “let go of your desires,” but to ask: is human desire inherently endless? And if so, how can we build a good life with this endless desire?
2. The Problem | Desire, the Starter of All Stories
Today’s man, despite having more possibilities, feels more dissatisfied. But a fundamental question remains unanswered: What exactly are we talking about when we say, “What do humans want today?” And more importantly, what is the nature of “wanting” itself?
Let’s start with a simple distinction. “Need” is different from “want.” Need is a lack that, if not met, threatens survival. Thirst is a need. Hunger is a need. Physical security is a need. But want is something else. Want is an “existential lack” that is never fully met. We can satisfy our needs, but not our wants. Want is a constant shadow that stays with us until the last day of our lives.
Perhaps the most important difference between humans and animals lies here. Animals have needs, and when their needs are met, they rest. But humans, in addition to need, have “want.” A desire that drives him even when all his needs are met. That is why man is the only creature that can be dissatisfied with a full stomach. He is the only creature that feels a lack in the midst of abundance. This inexhaustible desire is perhaps what great philosophers have called “the essence of human existence.”
Now let’s think about some fundamental questions. Questions that will be with us until the end of the book:
Is man inherently insatiable? Or has modern society made him this way?
Does desire have a natural or cultural origin?
Do all desires have the same value? What is the relationship between the desire for food and the desire for power?
Is it possible to have “right desire” and “wrong desire”? And if so, what is the criterion for distinguishing?
Does a good life mean fulfilling as many desires as possible, or does it mean educating desire itself?
These questions are the map of the path that this subsection and the following chapters of the book will take. The answer to each of them is like a key that opens a new door to the concept of a “valuable life.” And first of all, we must know that in this book, “desire” is not the enemy of man. Desire is the raw material of his life. What determines the fate of man is not the principle of desire; but the direction, order, and prioritization of desires. The problem of man today is not the abundance of desires; it is the disorder of desires. I say this sentence here, at the beginning of the path, so that it will accompany us throughout the entire journey.
3. Dialogue with Perspectives | Why Desire Has No End?
The question of the “endlessness of desire” can be examined from different angles. Each field of human sciences gives its own answer to this question. Let’s put these answers together and see what part of this puzzle each one illuminates. But first of all, let’s turn this conversation into a multi-voiced roundtable discussion instead of a one-sided lecture.
Psychology: Hedonic Adaptation
Psychologists have discovered a phenomenon called “hedonic adaptation” or. This phenomenon explains why humans quickly get used to any pleasure and success. When we achieve a desire, our brain raises the level of “normal pleasure” and forms a new desire to achieve the same previous level of pleasure. Like someone who needs a higher dose of a stimulant to feel good. This adaptation is one of the main reasons why our desires never end. Because every time we reach a certain level, our mind accepts it as the “normal state” and sets a higher level as the “goal.”
Economics: Unlimited Wants vs. Limited Resources
From an economic perspective, the situation is a little different. Economists start from a classic assumption: “Human wants are unlimited, while the resources to satisfy them are limited.” This assumption forms the basis of economics. But some critical economists believe that humans do not just need “more pleasure”; they also need “a different quality” of pleasure. There is a fundamental difference between “quantitative pleasure” (which is obtained by consuming more) and “qualitative pleasure” (which is obtained by experiencing more). But consumer society constantly pushes us towards quantitative pleasure, and this is one of the reasons for our endless desires.
Sociology: Consumerism and the Reproduction of Desire
Sociologists take a closer look at the role of society in shaping desires. They believe that our desires do not arise naturally; they are constructed by social structures, culture, and the media. In modern society, the capitalist system needs the continuous production of new desires to survive. Because the consumer economy only grows when consumers constantly want new things.
That is why the media and the advertising industry constantly show us that “we don’t have enough yet.” New goods, new models, new lifestyles, and new standards of success are constantly being produced. We are caught in a cycle in which, every time we reach a certain level of consumption, a new level is introduced to us as a “need.”
Philosophy: Desire, the Engine of Human Movement
And then there is philosophy. Perhaps no discipline has been more concerned with the concept of desire than philosophy. The German philosopher Schopenhauer, a pessimist, said that desire is the eternal root of human suffering. He believed that man is an animal that can get what he wants, but cannot stop wanting. In his opinion, desire is a perpetual void that can never be filled, and it is precisely this void that is the source of human suffering.
But Sartre, the existential philosopher, has a different answer. In his opinion, man is a being who moves “towards the future” and “towards possibilities.” And this movement is not possible without desire. Desire is not something that makes man suffer; rather, it is something that makes him “human.” Sartre says: “Man is his own project.” That is, we are in a “state of becoming,” and desire is the engine of this becoming. From this perspective, desire is not a defect, but a fundamental human possibility.
Later, in the second volume of this book, we will see that Islamic thinkers do not consider desire to be inherently bad, but rather “in need of direction.” Man is a being who has many desires, and his duty is to guide these desires in the right direction. Desire is not the enemy; but it must be trained.
Conclusion of the dialogue
All these perspectives see part of the truth. Psychology speaks of the brain, economics of resources, sociology of structures, and philosophy of human nature. But, in my opinion, the main problem is not any of these alone. Man is a being who has both nature and culture, freedom and the possibility of education. Therefore, the main problem is not to eliminate desire or to surrender to it; but to organize it. This is the same idea that connects the chapters throughout this book, like a rosary thread. This dialogue shows that the inexhaustibility of desire is a multilayered phenomenon that can be examined from different angles. None of these answers, on their own, is complete. But together, they offer us a rich and multidimensional picture of the nature of desire.
4. Reflection | A Thought Experiment
Let’s do a simple thought experiment. Suppose you woke up tomorrow morning and realized that everything you’ve ever wanted was suddenly available to you. Unlimited money, unparalleled success, perfect relationships, absolute health, and everything you could possibly imagine. Your initial joy would be overwhelming. It would feel like everything was over.
But here’s a question: Do you think a year from now, you’ll still have something to want?
The honest answer for most of us is probably “yes.” We’ll still have it. Something we didn’t have. Something that, yes, we once wanted, but today it’s no longer appealing. Something that we’ve just realized we need. Maybe even within a few months. Maybe after we’ve gotten everything we want, we’ll realize, “There’s still something missing.”
This experiment shows that desire is not just a means to an end, but a state of being. We cannot stop wanting. Even when we have everything, the desire to “want something more” remains. But is this a flaw or an opportunity? Does this inexhaustibility mean that we are doomed to perpetual dissatisfaction? Or perhaps, this inexhaustibility gives us the opportunity to choose what to want more deeply and more consciously each time?
5. Is the problem with too many desires?
Now that we have said all this about the inexhaustibility of desire, we must ask ourselves: “Is the problem with too many desires?” Would our lives be better if we had fewer desires?
The answer is probably “no.” At least, not alone. Desire is the engine of human progress, creativity, and movement. Without desire, human civilization would never have been formed. A world without desire would be a world without movement and stagnation. Therefore, the problem of today’s man is not “having desire”; nor is it even “too much desire.” The great men of history were those who had great and insatiable desires. So the problem is not desire itself.
In my opinion, the problem lies elsewhere. The problem is that we never ask ourselves, “What kind of person will this desire make me?” The quality of life does not depend only on the “fulfillment of desires”; it also depends on the “quality of the desires themselves.” If our desires do not have the right direction, if there is no correct prioritization among them, we will never achieve lasting satisfaction.
We have millions of desires, but there is no order among them. The desire for wealth is in conflict with the desire for peace. The desire for career success is intertwined with the desire for enough time for family. The desire for instant gratification is incompatible with the desire for long-term growth. And we are inevitably moving through this minefield of conflicting desires, and at any moment we may explode in one of them.
The problem with man today is not the abundance of desires; it is the disorder of desires. We are like someone who has all the food in the world laid out in front of him, but he does not know which to eat first, which to eat next, and which not to eat at all. So instead of eating everything, or giving up everything, he becomes confused and tastes only a bite of everything and still remains hungry. I repeat this sentence, which I believe is one of the most important in this book, in the middle of the book, so that it will be imprinted in the reader’s mind: The problem is not a lack of desire; it is a disorder of desire.
6. A Point to the Horizon | How Do Desires Relate to One Another?
Now that we have arrived at this point, perhaps we can briefly mention that human desires are not all the same. Perhaps they can be divided into several large families. Some desires are for survival: food, security, health. Others are for pleasure: peace, recreation, excitement, beauty. Some desires are for superiority: power, wealth, fame, social success. And some desires are deeper than all of these: the desire for meaning. The desire for truth, love, God, justice, and connection to something beyond oneself.
In the coming chapters, we will see in detail how these desires relate to one another. We will see whether they are all of equal value. We will see which of them brings us closer to a “valuable life” and which one traps us in an endless cycle of wanting and not getting. We will see whether there is a conflict between the “desire for pleasure” and the “desire for meaning,” or whether they can coexist.
7. Conclusion | The Horizon Ahead
Perhaps no human being can stop wanting. But perhaps we can learn what to want. The difference between valuable lives is not in the number of desires; it is in the quality of their desires. Perhaps the most important decision of any human being is not how to achieve his desires, but which desires are worth achieving.
In this subsection, it was stated that human desires are endless. But the endlessness of desire is not an existential flaw, but a great possibility. It allows us to choose what we want more consciously and deeply each time. This choice is the “education of desire.” And this is perhaps the most important moral project of any human being.
In the following chapters, we will see what place “pleasure” has in this. Is pleasure our ultimate answer? Or is something beyond pleasure necessary for a worthwhile life? Is “happiness” the same as “more pleasure,” or does it have another quality? And finally, what role do “virtue” and “spirituality” play in this puzzle?
We may not be able to stop wanting; but if we do not know what a worthwhile life is, our desires will also wander. This sentence is a bridge to the next chapters of the book. For in order to know which desires to prioritize, we need to know what a “valuable life” means. And this is precisely the question that we will answer in the coming chapters.
For those who go deeper
Deeper questions:
1. Is desire inherently “failing,” or is the “failure of desire” a product of our particular type of society? Can we build a society in which desires are not a source of suffering, but a source of growth?
2. Is the “desire for meaning” in conflict with the “desire for pleasure”? Or can they be had simultaneously?
3. Is the “education of desire” a moral or a psychological concept? Can desire be considered “right” or “wrong”?
4. If desire is endless, isn’t “satisfaction” an illusory concept? Can one “have a desire” and “be satisfied” at the same time?
5. What is the relationship between “desire” and “freedom”? Does freedom mean “doing whatever I want” or “wanting what is really worth wanting”?
For further reading
Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality. Translated by Ahmad Rezvani. Roshd Publications. pp. 40-70.
Fromm, Erich. Having or Being. Translated by Akbar Tabrizi. Behjat Publications. pp. 30-55.
Frankl, Viktor. Man’s Search for Meaning. Translated by Nehzatollah Salehi. Tehran University Press. pp. 25-45.
