In a talk that shakes the foundations of modern thought, philosopher Darío Sztajnszrajber let loose a reflection that could well be the mantra of these times: “Being happy means not hurting.” The phrase, which recovers the old doctrine of Epicurus, lands like a slap in the face to a society that measures life in terms of profitability and performance.
Sztajnszrajber, known for his direct style and his ability to bring philosophy down to earth, did not beat around the bush. He took aim at the idea that every step we take must generate a profit. “There is something in that performance, performance as profitability, where every step we take we have to take advantage of it, generate a profit, produce some kind of accumulation,” he shot. And he finished: “For me, that is a way that does not challenge me.”
The teacher argues that philosophy has a therapeutic role: it allows us to distance ourselves from daily demands and the imperative of productivity. “Utility, planning, a certain type of human being more associated with the world of productivity, when we think of happiness or love in those terms, something is lost,” he explained.
For Sztajnszrajber, the key lies in Epicurus and his concept of ataraxia: the imperturbability of the soul. “Epicurus said that happiness is the imperturbability of the soul. Very linked to this idea of being able to find that nothing takes us off a certain axis, a certain inner peace, a certain tranquility,” he detailed. And he added: “What disturbs us most are dependencies, and these dependencies are structured from what he calls false infinities, which is thinking that things last forever.”
The philosopher gave concrete examples: a love relationship, a property. Everything generates dependency and fear of losing it. Faced with that, Epicurus proposes a pleasure for minimal things. “He said: flee from pain, seek pleasure. Even if there is a contradiction between the two, being happy is not hurting, to summarize it like that,” Sztajnszrajber synthesized.
But the thing does not end there. The thinker flatly rejected the idea that life should be configured under the maxim of constant performance. “One day we realize, we begin to ask ourselves what we are here for and more or less when we begin to realize, time in its brevity runs out. Imagine if our entire existence had to be absolutely configured under the maxim or precept of utility,” he reflected.
In its place, he proposes a “philosophy of escape,” which seeks to reconcile us with the useless and the unexpected. “I am interested in thinking of being free more as in the attempt to free ourselves from the different forms that have been made of us. In which we are trapped, I do not know if there is a way in which one finally escapes completely,” he stated.
And he closed with a phrase that is a whole declaration of principles: “Doing philosophy is scratching where it does not itch. Because somehow the world we live in already establishes predictable coordinates. It itches, ergo, I scratch. Scratching where it does not itch is trying to get out of what is expected of one. And that getting out of predictability for me is one of the forms of freedom.”
para mi este sztajnszrajber es un zurdo de mierda la felicidad es laburar como negro y tener plata no imperturbabilidad del alma viva la libertad carajo dejate de joder con el alma vago
Para mí Darío la re pegó. La felicidad es no laburar 12 horas como un burro. Los liberalchos de mierda nos venden el esfuerzo para que seamos esclavos. ¡Basta de producir como robots! Que no duela, eso es ser feliz, no acumular porquerías. Firmado: El Che de Avellaneda.