On suffering

So it has been noted by finer minds than mine that most quality literature and in fact art deals with what most people would consider negative emotions--Fear, anger, betrayal, sadness, loss--and very little deals with things that we would actually want for ourselves--happiness, love... It has been noted that perhaps the downer side of art is more popular because it is truer to life--we do suffer, so we want to read about others doing so. This is I think at least in part valid.

But I have come across an interesting fact that may shed some light on why the darker side of life appeals more to us and why sad stories seem to move us more than happy ones.

"Most neuroscientists now recognize six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and suprise [and a small number of] higher emotions such as embarrassment, shame, and sympathy."

Reading this list, one thing strikes me--we are hardwired to experience suffering. Perhaps this explains why even when we don't suffer we feel the compulsion to find suffering in our lives. It explains Western guilt and teenage angst. I suppose we developed this system of emotions to deal with life as it was lived by most of our ancestors. So the next time you're feeling down in the dumps, take comfort in the fact that you are feeling the suffering of thousands of generations of emotional development.