The Dark Side of Painless Civilization A Philosophical Investigation into Human Desire

The contemporary civilization is aiming to give us “pleasure and comfort” and eliminate “pain and suffering” as much as possible. This is is evident especially in advanced countries. The contemporary civilization is moving toward a “painless civilization.” However, in a painless civilization, we are deprived of the joy of life, which is considered a fundamental source of our meaning of life, and we are led to the situation of drowning in a sea of pleasure. This is is a kind of dystopia, but we cannot find an easy way to escape from it. It is important to pay special attention to this aspect of contemporary civilization when we think about the future of our planet.