In this blog post, we will take an in-depth look at whether modern people are happier than in the past through the changes that the Industrial Revolution has brought to human life.
Is happiness simply feeling good? People often use pleasure as a standard for happiness. However, can we define happiness in life by only pleasant moments? When we pursue pleasure, those feelings are temporary and quickly disappear, so we need to explore the deeper meaning of happiness. Then, what else is there to define happiness besides pleasure? To explore this question in depth, we can refer to Part 4 of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens. Harari explains the criteria for happiness from subjective and objective perspectives.
First, from a subjective perspective, happiness can be broadly divided into two categories: pleasure and emotion. The perspective of pleasure is, as the name suggests, a perspective that judges happiness based on the intensity and duration of pleasurable feelings. At this point, it is said that it is possible to feel a high level of happiness for a certain period of time by manipulating people’s biochemical systems. For example, when we eat delicious food or have an enjoyable experience, we feel momentary happiness. However, this happiness is only a momentary emotion and is inevitably limited in its duration. The perspective of emotion is similar but slightly different. It is the perspective that happiness is based on finding meaning in life. We make value judgments about specific actions, and through this, we discover the meaning and value of life and feel happiness. This kind of happiness is deeper and more lasting, and requires a perspective that encompasses our entire life.
However, both of the above perspectives rely on subjective standards, which can be problematic as they can justify even wrong actions on the grounds that they make us happy. For example, a person may earn money through illegal means and feel temporary happiness, but it is questionable whether that happiness is genuine. Accordingly, opinions have emerged that objective standards for happiness must be presented. Among these opinions, the perspectives of religion and philosophy are representative, and Sapiens introduces the Buddhist perspective in particular.
From a Buddhist perspective, happiness does not depend on emotions. This perspective considers emotions to be nothing more than momentary fluctuations that are constantly changing, and believes that people suffer by endlessly pursuing these momentary emotions, which are meaningless. Therefore, it says that happiness can only be achieved when we understand that all emotions are impermanent and find our true selves. Buddhism pursues true happiness through inner peace and stability of mind, which is something that many people in modern society tend to overlook. In other words, we can achieve true happiness when we listen to our inner feelings rather than external conditions.
Does this mean that external factors do not affect happiness? When we think of external factors, we tend to think of our living environment. The industrial revolution was one of the events that had the greatest impact on our living environment. The Industrial Revolution refers to the technological innovations that began in England in the mid-18th century and the accompanying social and economic transformations. This revolution went beyond the development of technology and brought about significant changes in all aspects of people’s lives. Technological innovations brought about by the Industrial Revolution led to the emergence of numerous machines, which changed not only people’s physical environment but also their mental environment, including their ways of thinking and value judgments, resulting in social structural changes.
As mentioned earlier, the Industrial Revolution had a major impact on human life. First, the development of machines replaced simple repetitive tasks, making the physical environment more convenient for humans. As a result, people’s working hours were significantly reduced and their leisure time increased, which led to the emergence of various technologies for human entertainment. With the development of these technologies, the concept of human space changed.
Through the Industrial Revolution, machines were developed, enabling people to travel long distances easily without having to walk. In addition, barriers between countries began to break down, and exchanges between the previously separate East and West became more active, leading to the acceptance of each other’s cultures. The Industrial Revolution changed not only the concept of space but also the concept of time.
With the advent of machines, especially conveyor belts, people began to perform the same task repeatedly. Since each person performed only one task, if even one person was absent, the entire process would come to a halt. To prevent this from happening, everyone had to adhere strictly to the same schedule. In other words, everyone arrived at the factory at the same time, ate lunch at the same time, and left work at the same time. These schedules gradually spread throughout society and began to be applied even in places without assembly lines or machines. Schedules were particularly prevalent in public transportation because, as they spread, public transportation had to run on time so that people could arrive at work on time. These schedules eventually led the British government to establish standard time based on the Greenwich Observatory, forming a global time network that was integrated into one.
In this way, the Industrial Revolution greatly changed people’s perception of time and space. So, did the Industrial Revolution only have a positive impact on people? It is difficult to say so. First of all, it had a significant impact on people’s mental health. Workers had to perform the same tasks all day long, like machines, which wore down their minds. In addition, with the onset of urbanization and industrialization, people became less interested in each other’s lives, which led to the problem of human alienation. In addition, the development of machines destroyed the environment, and capitalists began to exploit workers using machines, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor. These problems still remain unresolved in modern society.
In this way, the Industrial Revolution brought about major changes in human life, both positive and negative. So, in light of the definition of happiness discussed above, can we say that modern people are happier after the Industrial Revolution? First of all, modern people have a wider range of choices than in the past. As a result, modern people have more opportunities to be happy or unhappy, and the possibilities for happiness and unhappiness have become more diverse. However, it is difficult to determine whether modern people are happy based on the mere fact that they have more possibilities. This is because each individual has different subjective standards for happiness and unhappiness, making it difficult to determine whether the increase in the possibility of happiness or the increase in the possibility of unhappiness is greater. Therefore, we must judge the happiness of modern people comprehensively, using different standards of happiness.
Another aspect of happiness is the difference in thoughts about the meaning and value of life. As mentioned in the criteria for happiness above, each person has different value judgments about specific behaviors, so the behaviors they consider meaningful also differ. One example of this is how people think about their jobs. Some scientists believe that their lives are meaningful because they increase human knowledge, while some architects believe that their lives are meaningful because they build buildings where people can live. In other words, everyone has different ideas about their jobs, and each person defines what they consider to be meaningful behavior and lives their life according to that definition. Based on the above examples, it is clear that modern people have more choices than in the past, and as a result, they have more activities that they consider meaningful. This means that there is more room for happiness, and it is likely that many people feel happier in their daily lives.
In conclusion, the happiness of modern people has both positive and negative aspects, along with the industrial revolution. With a wider range of choices, modern people can pursue various lifestyles and have the potential to feel more happiness. However, at the same time, problems such as worker alienation and the gap between the rich and the poor remain unresolved, which can be obstacles to the happiness of modern people. Therefore, we must create a society where more people can feel happiness by recognizing and solving these problems.
