While creativity can indeed come from suffering, to think that is the sole root of human innovation is to miss what it is to be creative, and what the rest of us derive from the work of creative people. Krista Tippet expressed it well (https://onbeing.org/blog/does-creativity-have-to-come-from-suffering/), saying:
“I think what we actually want (and rely on) from those in creative roles is courage, not their misery.”
Well said, Jon. Courage is an interesting add on, and I think it gets at the mark of excellence and creativity. It’s because if we take confidence as what it means to believe in oneself, courage is what it means to believe in something greater.
And as humans we are all, for some reason or another, drawn to and inspired by the pursuit of something greater.
Creativity stems from courage Yes but courage derives from penetrating the realm of pleasure and crossing that which is anti-pleasure or shall I say suffering. Fear perhaps is a form of suffering that requires courage to overcome. And suffering in Buddhist philosophy is the attachment of desire. Release desire and you are freed from suffering.
I can't recall who deemed 'auto-fabrication' uniquely human. The cow doesn't think about what kind of cow she wants to be, though Selima Hill's wants to be 'queenly' with 'hips as big as department stores'. Check out her eponymous poem. I wouldn't put it past the cow's cognition.
I don't know that we differ from other animals or even subsist as a thing apart. We could be one super-organism. There are honey-gathering African tribes, notably Tanzania's Hadza, that communicate LINGUISTICALLY with birds. Humans and birds pursue honey symbiotically.
Eschatology, maybe? Cults? 'Lifeboat', a science fiction story by Gordon Dickson and Harry Harrison may be elucidating. Planets as imperfect abodes. Ephemera. To be escaped by dying in space.
A durational performance artist, I recognize only the body's way of knowing. Haruki Murakami writes in his memoir on running marathons and triathlons that cycling activates otherwise latent muscles. What makes us uniquely human is the elaboration of physicality for numinous ends.
This piece weaves philosophy, psychology, and literature into a compelling critique of human nature. It deeply resonates, especially Dostoevsky’s claim that humans possess a passionate love for destruction and chaos. It’s paradoxical—how can the most intelligent species also be obsessed with tearing down its creations? Yet, perhaps that is the essence of being human.
In the soil of suffering, Dostoevsky saw not a cruel fate, but a strange alchemy — where the cracked heart might become a chalice for deeper life. Pain, in his telling, was not the enemy but the forge, shaping men not into harder steel, but into beings capable of tenderness, mercy, and awe.
Perhaps in our own quiet struggles, we too are being carved into vessels wide enough to hold both sorrow and wonder. How might we honor the hidden gifts that suffering leaves behind, even as we yearn for lighter days? ∞
You don’t need to suffer. You’re already suffering because it’s part of life. Nobody can hide from it. Needing to suffer doesn’t make you better. Understanding what suffering means is a step towards being a better person.
As someone who’s battled major depression, anxiety disorder, and suicidal ideation for 15 years, I disagree. No one needs suffering. Very few deserve suffering. And I’m tired of people making my and other people’s suffering a philosophical debate.
I don’t know gentlemen, the most compelling theory I’ve seen is that this was a psychotic break driven by his inability to accept a testicular cancer diagnosis and his subsequent journey to reconcile what it truly means to be a man. This journey is exasperated by fear of his own mortality and the life he’d been wasting in a corporate cubicle resulting in his absolute rejection of conformity.
I recently finished Fight Club and I love your take on it. As brash as Tyler is, and although his message was focused on me, I couldn't help but be fascinated by his message. How the monotony of modern life tries to mute your authentic self. Great post!
Great points. Dostoyevsky, once again proves to us why he is considered one of the best. The philosophy woven into his novels rivals that of career philosophers who were writing from university chairs.
Individuation is suffering, separating from the comfort, and protection of the family, and society to forge your own identity and sovereign will. This is the hero's journey- exquisite suffering.
While creativity can indeed come from suffering, to think that is the sole root of human innovation is to miss what it is to be creative, and what the rest of us derive from the work of creative people. Krista Tippet expressed it well (https://onbeing.org/blog/does-creativity-have-to-come-from-suffering/), saying:
“I think what we actually want (and rely on) from those in creative roles is courage, not their misery.”
Well said, Jon. Courage is an interesting add on, and I think it gets at the mark of excellence and creativity. It’s because if we take confidence as what it means to believe in oneself, courage is what it means to believe in something greater.
And as humans we are all, for some reason or another, drawn to and inspired by the pursuit of something greater.
Right. I’ll take everyone having happiness, dignity, and comfort, even if it means we never get Starry Night or The Scream.
Creativity stems from courage Yes but courage derives from penetrating the realm of pleasure and crossing that which is anti-pleasure or shall I say suffering. Fear perhaps is a form of suffering that requires courage to overcome. And suffering in Buddhist philosophy is the attachment of desire. Release desire and you are freed from suffering.
Sharing with my 16 year old son who is currently in a Dostoyevsky phase (a healthy one!).
I can't recall who deemed 'auto-fabrication' uniquely human. The cow doesn't think about what kind of cow she wants to be, though Selima Hill's wants to be 'queenly' with 'hips as big as department stores'. Check out her eponymous poem. I wouldn't put it past the cow's cognition.
I don't know that we differ from other animals or even subsist as a thing apart. We could be one super-organism. There are honey-gathering African tribes, notably Tanzania's Hadza, that communicate LINGUISTICALLY with birds. Humans and birds pursue honey symbiotically.
Eschatology, maybe? Cults? 'Lifeboat', a science fiction story by Gordon Dickson and Harry Harrison may be elucidating. Planets as imperfect abodes. Ephemera. To be escaped by dying in space.
A durational performance artist, I recognize only the body's way of knowing. Haruki Murakami writes in his memoir on running marathons and triathlons that cycling activates otherwise latent muscles. What makes us uniquely human is the elaboration of physicality for numinous ends.
Thank you for this. That last sentence especially resonates…you’re definitely onto something.
This piece weaves philosophy, psychology, and literature into a compelling critique of human nature. It deeply resonates, especially Dostoevsky’s claim that humans possess a passionate love for destruction and chaos. It’s paradoxical—how can the most intelligent species also be obsessed with tearing down its creations? Yet, perhaps that is the essence of being human.
In the soil of suffering, Dostoevsky saw not a cruel fate, but a strange alchemy — where the cracked heart might become a chalice for deeper life. Pain, in his telling, was not the enemy but the forge, shaping men not into harder steel, but into beings capable of tenderness, mercy, and awe.
Perhaps in our own quiet struggles, we too are being carved into vessels wide enough to hold both sorrow and wonder. How might we honor the hidden gifts that suffering leaves behind, even as we yearn for lighter days? ∞
This was a very good, intriguing Post! I love your different take on this topic!
He attacks the credit card companies because he’s enslaved by debt from shopping through catalogs.
You don’t need to suffer. You’re already suffering because it’s part of life. Nobody can hide from it. Needing to suffer doesn’t make you better. Understanding what suffering means is a step towards being a better person.
Here I was reading. Liking it. Then reach the end and blah.
Everybody is trying to sell you something. Either that, or out to fuck you.
Good riddance.
As someone who’s battled major depression, anxiety disorder, and suicidal ideation for 15 years, I disagree. No one needs suffering. Very few deserve suffering. And I’m tired of people making my and other people’s suffering a philosophical debate.
We aim for morally positive extremes, but what we really need is balance. Too much order is stagnation, too much chaos is despair
The sleep disorders most likely to affect people with cancer are insomnia and an abnormal sleep-wake cycle.
I don’t know gentlemen, the most compelling theory I’ve seen is that this was a psychotic break driven by his inability to accept a testicular cancer diagnosis and his subsequent journey to reconcile what it truly means to be a man. This journey is exasperated by fear of his own mortality and the life he’d been wasting in a corporate cubicle resulting in his absolute rejection of conformity.
I recently finished Fight Club and I love your take on it. As brash as Tyler is, and although his message was focused on me, I couldn't help but be fascinated by his message. How the monotony of modern life tries to mute your authentic self. Great post!
Thanks, Zavia!
Great points. Dostoyevsky, once again proves to us why he is considered one of the best. The philosophy woven into his novels rivals that of career philosophers who were writing from university chairs.
Individuation is suffering, separating from the comfort, and protection of the family, and society to forge your own identity and sovereign will. This is the hero's journey- exquisite suffering.