People should never be satisfied with what they have. They should always want something new and something different. Do you agree or disagree? Use your own reasons and specific examples to support your argument.
That people should never be satisfied with what they have and should always strive for something new and different seems to be a propensity inherent in human nature. We have all read in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice that “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.” This only testifies to one aspect, which is also a necessary condition, of human existence.
On the most abstract level, the spirit of dissatisfaction constitutes the very force that has propelled human civilization forward in the course of human history. Stimulated by the thirst for knowledge from within and challenged by the harshness of the environment from without, man has evolved triumphantly from the most primitive to the most advanced and sophisticated. If it had contented our pristine ancestors to dwell in caves or to lead their nomadic life, they would have remained some mere vagabond creatures, lurking in the unfriendly forests and in the hostile wilderness, forever on the alert so as not to fall prey to some ferocious predators. Consequently we can safely conclude that it is precisely man’s inquiring mind and his aspiring nature that distinguish himself from other animals.
In the modern world, this insatiable desire on the part of mankind has given rise to the most spectacular development of science and technology. We know that, with all the material wealth we have accumulated, we can live a passable, even a well-to-do life. However, we are also fully aware that life of this kind is not the best. Therefore, we travel into the unknown depths of the universe to explore its mysteries and we undertake perilous expeditions to the South Pole under the hope of discovering alternative energy sources to compensate for those which we already have, but which are depleting at an alarming rate. Every single advance in science and technology is invariably the result of man’s incessant quest for the new, the different and the better.
Finally, the turn of the century has witnessed a sustained proliferation of “isms”, both in arts and in literature, such as Impressionism, Expressionism, Symbolism, Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism, Structuralism and the like. Why? The reason is simple. This flourishing is a direct response to people’s discontent with hackneyed and stereotyped modes of expression whose expressiveness has been worn away by centuries of overuse. Appreciating classical masterpieces only, say, Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, is a dull job. By contrast, Picasso the cubist has expressed a profound truth in Guernica with a refreshingly avant-garde freshness and originality. The existing conditions are always being transcended by the new and the different.
Admittedly, there are possible exceptions to this general rule of dissatisfaction. An ancient Chinese saying that “those who constantly feel satisfied tend to be happy” is quite illustrative in this respect. But I would rather interpret this as implying that people’s sense of happiness and satisfaction results from what they have achieved, including what is new and what is different. After all, human beings are by no means the jackdaw in Aesop’s fable who could afford to indulge complacently but vainly in singing and dancing without knowing where his next meal would come from.
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人们应该永不满足于他们业已拥有的一切，并应该永远去追求新异之物，这似乎是人类本性中所固有的一个倾向。我们在Jane Austin的《傲慢与偏见》一书中都读到过这样一句话，“这是一个举世公认的真理，即一个腰缠万贯的单身男人必欲迎取一位娇妻。”这仅仅只例示着人类生存的一个侧面，亦即人类生存中的一种必要境况。
在最为抽象的层面上，永不满足的精神构成了推动人类文明在整个人类历史长河中前进的力量所在。出于对知识渴求的内在激励，以及恶劣环境的外在挑战，人类成功地完成了其进化，由最原始的状态嬗变至最高级的和最尖端的境界。倘若我们的原始祖先满足于栖息于洞穴之中，或过一种游牧的生活，他们终将只能成为某些到处飘零、浪迹天涯的生物体，出没于险象丛生的森林或满是敌意的荒野，永远提心吊胆，处处设防，惟恐成为某些食人猛兽的牺牲品。因此，我们可以十分有把握地得出结论说，正是人类勇于求索的心灵及其满怀抱负的本性才使人类有别于其他动物。
在当今世界，人类身上这种永不满足的欲望引发了科技领域最宏伟壮观的发展。我们知道，人类凭借业已积累起来的物质财富，早就可以过上一种过得去的、甚至是甚为富裕的生活。但是，我们也充分地意识到，这种生活并不是最美好的。因此，我们遨游至宇宙不为人知的深处去探索其奥秘;我们也深入到南极进行危险的远征，以期发现可供替换的能源，来弥补我们业已拥有但却正以惊人速度锐减的那些能源。每项科技进步无一不是对新异之物和更美好之物的不懈求索所致。
最后，世纪之交目睹了文艺领域中各种思潮流派持续不断的大量涌现，诸如印象主义，表现主义，象征主义，立体派，野兽派，超现实主义，结构主义等。原因何在?答案十分简单。这种百花齐放的繁荣是对人们的某种不满所做出的反应，人们已不再满足于各种陈腐的、老一套的表达方式，因为它们的表现力由于几个世纪的反复使用而丧失殆尽。要求人们仅仅欣赏古典杰作，比如说Da Vinci的《蒙娜丽莎》，不啻是一桩令人十分乏味的事情。相反，立体派画家毕加索则以一种令人耳目一新的、带有先锋派色彩的清新与原创性在《格尔尼卡》一画中表达了一种深刻的真理。可以说，现存的状况总是在被新异之物所超越。
诚然，对于永不满足这一普遍规律而言，总是有可能存在着例外情形。中国古谚云：“知足常乐”。它在这方面是一个最好的例证。但我更愿意对这一古谚作这样的解读，即人们的幸福感与满足感缘起于他们所已取得的成就，包括已经取得了的“新”和“异”的成就。毕竟，人类决不是伊索寓言中的那只寒鸦，可以自满且虚荣地整日沉湎于唱歌跳舞，却全然不知下一餐食物将从何而来。
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