After going through all material so far, I learned a philosophy that we are bound to be happy. In Aristotle’s Ethics, he mentioned that happiness is an ultimate end that people pursue. This establishes a premise that we all are on a road to pursue happiness since we were born. This concept coincides with Freud’s pleasure principles to some extent because they both assert the pursuit of some sort of goods. Aristotle might hold a different opinion because he does not believe that pleasure is an ultimate end.

Are we really bound to be happy? Different people tend to have their own opinions on this question. Some people may wonder if this is the case, how come there are so many setbacks and hardships throughout life. In Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle, it explains the reasons why people experience pain. The book states, “any given process originates in an unpleasant state of tension and thereupon determines for itself such a path that its ultimate issue coincides with a relaxation of this tension, i.e. with avoidance of ‘pain’ or with production of pleasure.” In addition to this, Freud introduces another psychological concept of the reality-principle, which further explains how the reality-principle demands and enforces the postponement of satisfaction and the temporary endurance of ‘pain’ on the long and circuitous road to pleasure.

 In response to my question mentioned above, my answer is positive. Yes, we are bound to be happy. By accurately interpreting what we did and what we do, people will get an answer easily. Few simple answers will really help to understand and resolve. Why do people want to eat more foods than they need? Why do people want to go to college? Why do people want to get married?

We all have most basic and primitive urges. The pleasure principles strive to fulfill those needs. When one day we get it, we feel happy and pleased.