The pleasures here are not obvious, to say the least rather, it seems to be “unrelenting misery from end to end”. The economist George Loewenstein gives the example of serious mountaineering. Challenging and difficult work is the ticket to survival and status boring exercise and unpleasant diets are what you have to go through for abs of steel and a vibrant old age, and so on. But for the hedonist, these unpleasant acts are seen as the costs that must be paid to obtain greater pleasures in the future. Hedonists wouldn’t deny that life is full of voluntary suffering – we wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, take the 8.15 into the city, undergo painful medical procedures. The spirit of this view is nicely captured in The Epic of Gilgamesh: “Let your belly be full, enjoy yourself always by day and by night! Make merry each day, dance and play day and night… For such is the destiny of men.” And also by the Canadian rock band Trooper: “We’re here for a good time / Not a long time / So have a good time / The sun can’t shine every day.” Suffering and pain are, by their very nature, to be avoided.
Recognizing that international associations are generally confronting world problems and developing action strategies based on particular values, the initial content was based on the descriptions, aims, titles and profiles of international associations.T he simplest theory of human nature is hedonism– – we pursue pleasure and comfort. UIA’s decades of collected data on the enormous variety of association life provided a broad initial perspective on the myriad problems of humanity. The initial content for the Encyclopedia was seeded from UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations. By concentrating on these links and relationships, the Encyclopedia is uniquely positioned to bring focus to the complex and expansive sphere of global issues and their interconnected nature.
These connections are based on a range of relationships such as broader and narrower scope, aggravation, relatedness and more. It is currently published as a searchable online platform with profiles of world problems, action strategies, and human values that are interlinked in novel and innovative ways. The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential is a unique, experimental research work of the Union of International Associations.
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