That
people should never be satisfied with what they have and should always
strive for something new and different seems to be a propensity inherent
in human nature. We have all read in Jane Austin’s Pride and
Prejudice that “It is a truth universally acknowledged that
a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a
wife.” This only testifies to one aspect, which is also a necessary
condition, of human existence.
On the most
abstract level, the spirit of dissatisfaction constitutes the very
force that has propelled human civilization forward in the course
of human history. Stimulated by the thirst for knowledge from within
and challenged by the harshness of the environment from without,
man has evolved triumphantly from the most primitive to the most
advanced and sophisticated. If it had contented our pristine ancestors
to dwell in caves or to lead their nomadic life, they would have
remained some mere vagabond creatures, lurking in the unfriendly
forests and in the hostile wilderness, forever on the alert so as
not to fall prey to some ferocious predators. Consequently we can
safely conclude that it is precisely man’s inquiring mind and his
aspiring nature that distinguish himself from other animals.
In the modern
world, this insatiable desire on the part of mankind has given rise
to the most spectacular development of science and technology. We
know that, with all the material wealth we have accumulated, we
can live a passable, even a well-to-do life. However, we are also
fully aware that life of this kind is not the best. Therefore, we
travel into the unknown depths of the universe to explore its mysteries
and we undertake perilous expeditions to the South Pole under the
hope of discovering alternative energy sources to compensate for
those which we already have, but which are depleting at an alarming
rate. Every single advance in science and technology is invariably
the result of man’s incessant quest for the new, the different
and the better.
Finally, the
turn of the century has witnessed a sustained proliferation of “isms”,
both in arts and in literature, such as Impressionism, Expressionism,
Symbolism, Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism, Structuralism and the like.
Why? The reason is simple. This flourishing is a direct response
to people’s discontent with hackneyed and stereotyped modes of
expression whose expressiveness has been worn away by centuries
of overuse. Appreciating classical masterpieces only, say, Mona
Lisa by Da Vinci, is a dull job. By contrast, Picasso the cubist
has expressed a profound truth in Guernica with a refreshingly
avant-garde freshness and originality. The existing conditions are
always being transcended by the new and the different.
Admittedly,
there are possible exceptions to this general rule of dissatisfaction.
An ancient Chinese saying that “those who constantly feel satisfied
tend to be happy” is quite illustrative in this respect. But I
would rather interpret this as implying that people’s sense of
happiness and satisfaction results from what they have achieved,
including what is new and what is different. After all, human beings
are by no means the jackdaw in Aesop’s fable who could afford to
indulge complacently but vainly in singing and dancing without knowing
where his next meal would come from.
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