Whereas mankind has traditionally been concerned with the pursuit of happiness, greater wisdom would seem to lie in figuring how to be productively unhappy.
After all, misery is bound to happen to us, repeatedly.
Therefore, the value of suffering fruitfully outruns the use of any Utopian quest for blissful happiness.
Accordingly, the French novelist Marcel Proust (1871–1922) concurs that:
“The whole art of living is to make use of the individuals through whom we suffer.”
Let’s see how.
Suffering is not enough
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) is well-known for his theory that suffering is an indispensable ingredient for optimal self-development. In Twilight of the Idols, he wrote:
“What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”
When taken literally, this is overstated. Decades of psychological research show that stressors are generally bad for humans, contributing to anxiety, depression and heart disease.
Not all unpleasant but non-lethal experiences turn out beneficial because lack of death does not suffice for reaping the benefits of agony. Crucially, suffering by itself is not enough, but setbacks offer a possibility for advancement.
