The Comfortable Living Paradox

Vejdi Bilgin*

"Comfortable living" is not a goal for someone who lives in an apartment where the ceiling is unlikely to leak despite snow accumulation on the roof in cold weather, is heated by natural gas in all rooms, almost never experiences power outages due to strong infrastructure, can shower and wash clothes whenever he wants, and can meet his basic needs from the market around the corner. However, a generation ago, in the 1980s and 1990s, even people living in large cities typically lived in houses with only one heated room. Every autumn, he would transport wood and coal to the house's basement. He was subjected to regular power and water outages. He was busy buying and installing kitchen tubes, and the housewives used to wash the laundry with their hands in the basins one day a week. Despite these generational changes in daily life, we wish to live more comfortably, with air conditioners in our houses and offices, private automobiles, and even shopping without traveling to the market. We have an excuse for each of them: the weather is oppressively hot, public transit is overcrowded, and traveling to the market is a waste of time. It appears that man's quest for a comfortable life will continue, with new needs that we have yet to consider.
 

So, how did this expedition get started?

Human basic needs are largely "physiological," according to Maslow's famous "Hierarchy of Needs" hypothesis. In the next phase, the time who meets these needs seeks to meet the "security" need. The needs for "belonging and love," "respect," and "self-actualization" are then listed ¹. The primary goal of humanity in the beginning was to survive. This was accomplished by being able to eat and stay safe from wild animals and other people. The next goal of the person who accomplished this was to make life easy for others. The initial steps made by humanity to both survive and make life simpler include the invention of basic tools and equipment, animal domestication, agriculture, and the construction of shelters. Following that, products such as wheels, spinning wheels, textiles, and glass will be manufactured, and talents such as blacksmithing, carpentry, and building mastery will be developed. Even so, until the great technological accomplishment in the West, especially the 19th century, ordinary life was far from comfortable. People still commute on horseback or in carriages, regardless of their affluence, and houses were never heated or illuminated in the way we know them now. People in the middle and lower classes must continually exert physical effort.

The electric lights that illuminate the houses and streets, as well as locomotives and automobiles that bring the far closer together, are the most significant changes that affect ordinary people in daily life. The light bulb is the most important invention that alters daily life and upsets human biological rhythms. Thus, nighttime sittings, evening walks, night entertainments, and night shifts became commonplace in human life. However, as the sun sets, a person's biological rhythm dictates that they sleep for a while. In an artificially lit society, the light bulb not only delayed people's sleep, but it also disrupted the pure darkness required for quality sleep.

¹ Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 3. Bs, New York: Harper Collins, 1987, s. 15-23.

The nineteenth century and after relate to a period of rapid development that cannot be stopped, with everything geared toward increasing people's comfort. The first issue is what is the limit of human comfort seeking. What actually occurs when someone declares, "I have now achieved a comfortable lifestyle"?

The last few centuries have demonstrated that people are continually increasing their comfort zone. The reason for the ongoing expansion of the comfort zone, despite the fact that human beings' basic needs are obvious, is to create new needs and then meet them in the simplest way possible. For instance, it was relatively normal in the past for a person to bathe once a week. We know that people rarely bathed in medieval and modern Europe. For instance, the majority of public baths in medieval Paris were closed during the New Age. People chose to wipe their faces with rags rather than take a bath ². Without a doubt, people in the past exerted considerably more effort than they do today, and they were drenched in sweat. However, the stench produced by this sweating in humans was not considered odd. Daily baths and laundry/clothing changes are now required, and the necessity of being in close proximity in public transit vehicles and enclosed huge workplaces is changed as a reason. Again, until recently, the number of plates used by a family with five children was restricted, and women could quickly wash the filthy plates/plates that were already in use. A family with two children consumes significantly more plate and glass on a daily basis than the preceding generation. As a result, water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers are at the heart of modern people's comfort.

² Georges Vigarello, Temiz ve Kirli: Ortaçağ’dan Günümüze Vücut Bakımının Tarihi, çev. Zühre İlkgelen, İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayınevi, 1996, s. 30-38.

The question that arises here is whether vehicles such as water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers are produced in response to human needs or whether these vehicles have changed our perception of comfort. While these three instruments were undoubtedly produced in response to man's ancient needs, they also undoubtedly changed and reshaped our needs. Indeed, Basalla asserts that there was no such requirement before to Nikolaus A. Otto's 1876 development of the internal combustion four-stroke engine, and that for ten years (1895–1905) following the automobile's introduction, people viewed the new innovation as a source of enjoyment. Today, however, the automobile is universally regarded as a necessity.³

  ³ George Basalla, Teknolojinin Evrimi, çev. Cem Soydemir, 7. Bs., Ankara: TÜBİTAK Yayınları, 2000, s. 8.

The human desire to be informed and congratulated is also quite ancient. However, as recognized today, it is a current condition to gather data from the country and the world, as well as to send congratulations to distant regions. The birth of the first newspapers in the early seventeenth century and its widespread usage in the eighteenth century (4), the creation of the postal system, and the popular use of postcards in the nineteenth century all produced new needs for modern people. However, it was essential to visit the dealership in order to read the news and columns, as well as to purchase postcards, write, and visit the post office in order to express congratulations. For those of a certain age, they recall that in the 1980s and 1990s, mobile postcard exhibitions were organized on major city streets before to New Year's Eve and religious holidays. Those with a large circle would send dozens of cards from these locations, meticulously fill them, and mail them. Today, we can read our newspapers on a computer or a mobile phone without visiting a dealer and send a single holiday message to hundreds of people while watching a television series in the evening. Today, we simply meet this desire that was established by our forefathers or mothers three or five generations ago.

(4)  Peter Burke, Bilginin Toplumsal Tarihi, çev. Mete Tunçay, İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 2001, s. 168-169.

Unobtainable Times

What do we gain by addressing all of our needs, whether ancient or new, in an effortless manner? Almost everyone will respond "time" to this question. Others will assert that they accomplish more work while experiencing less physical exhaustion. However, paradoxically, one of the most frequently expressed grievances of today's populace is the issue of time. Our days pass at a breakneck time, dictated by the clock, and we rarely complete any work or meet deadlines. Indeed, the primary reason for this is the advancement of technology, which increases our comfort. The introduction of new modes of transportation increased the distances between home, work, and school. Additionally, we began to encounter a new problem known as the traffic problem. As a result, today's people must spend more time on the road than their forefathers. Additionally, technology has introduced us to new activities. For instance, there are numerous television series, programs, and social media accounts that we feel forced to follow, which occupy a considerable portion of our day. The growing usage of laundry and dishes in the home provides everyday tasks for the modern individual, such as loading, unloading, hanging, and storing the washing machine-dishwasher in the closet. Similarly, we are continuously ironing and vacuuming our home due to the ironing apparatus. As a result, the time spent on these chores in the past is equivalent to the time spent on them today. Indeed, for some individuals, these daily rituals develop into obsessive-compulsive behaviors over time, requiring significantly more time.
 

Increased Comfort, Our Body and Our Mental Structure

Just as the human body wears during strenuous work, it also wears during periods of inactivity. The body needs a certain amount of movement to function properly. Historically, daily life was dependent on the individual's movement. However, because we may now meet our needs without leaving our home, physicians' first caution is to act. Sedentary diseases are a significant element in the rise of diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes that afflict human life in the modern world. Between 1950 and 1955, the average life expectancy at birth was 46.5 years. This figure grew to 66 years between 2000 and 2005. (5). Several diseases contribute to this growth, including decreased newborn mortality rates, preventive health services, a widespread health system, and early disease detection and treatment.

However, no physician views inactivity as a reason in longevity, but rather as a threat. Heart attacks, high blood pressure and diabetic complications, as well as other chronic diseases that become more prevalent beyond the forties, all have a substantial life on the quality of life of individuals over their extended lifespans. Individuals subsist on drugs and physicians. Even though it is well established that the movement is incredibly beneficial at avoiding or curing the development of numerous diseases, the mass of society will be unable to give up the comfort given by technology if drastic measures are not done. (6)  Additionally, there are practical challenges. You cannot travel ten kilometers to work every day, you cannot carry bags full of items purchased at the market for twenty minutes, and you cannot always give your children to the neighborhood school. As a reason, home-use vehicles such as treadmills and bicycles have become popular in recent years, and walking paths have been included in the new municipal plan. Nonetheless, we can plainly observe that those who use such people account for a very, very small part of the society.

  (5) A. Mandıracıoğlu, “Dünyada ve Türkiye’de Yaşlıların Demografik Özellikleri,” Ege Tıp Dergisi, Cilt: 49, Sayı:1, 2010, s. 41.

  (6) Bkz. Ayşe Zengin Alpözgen, Arzu Razak Özdinçler, “Fiziksel Aktivite ve Koruyucu Etkileri,” Sağlık Bilimleri ve Meslekleri Dergisi, Yıl 2016, Cilt: 3, Sayı: 1, 2016, ss. 66 – 72.

In fact, a comfortable existence poses a grave threat to our mental constitution. Even ordinary people's lives are crowded with tasks, and their supervision and instruction demand considerable mental work. The upkeep, use, breakdown, and repurchase of electronic items that we believe make life easier are putting pressure on people. Additionally, when people replace tools, they face difficulties adapting to the new one. While the way a stove burns has stayed constant for generations, a person is frequently confronted with air conditioners with new functions throughout his life. Toffler asserts in his 1970 book Future Shock that a middle-aged person becomes as distant from the day he was born as Julius Caesar was from his civilization. In civilizations where change occurs at a breakneck time, a future shock occurs when the future enters our lives prematurely (7). This view, while perhaps overstated for the 1970s, very certainly receives a complete response today (2021). Inactivity is often mentioned as a contributing factor to mental tiredness. Exercise is frequently used to cure mental exhaustion and other mental issues. However, the psychiatric pharmaceutical sector is developing due to a variety of issues, including the fact that it is not simple to break the vicious circle of inactivity-mental problems-inactivity. Indeed, from 2000 to 2012, the usage of antidepressants more than doubled in 18 European nations that are members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).(8)

  (7) Alvin Toffler, Gelecek Korkusu: Şok, çev. S. Sargut, 3. Bs., İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar,  1981, s.16-17, 19.

  (8) M. Kemal Temel, “Modern Psikososyoklinik Etmenlerin Eseri ‘Antidepresan Kullanım Bozukluğu:’ Tıp Etiğince Sorun Teşkil Eden Bir Olgu,” Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 24, Sayı: 3, 2019, s. 208

Human Comfort, Environment and Comfortable Living Paradox

The biggest threat to human comfort is physical contact with the environment, and it is here that the paradox of comfortable living develops. High technology comes at a high cost to the environment, and nature's natural mechanisms are no longer capable of compensating for this damage. To begin, we release hazardous gases into the atmosphere. Cities experience severe air pollution. Because the comforts of the city cannot be replicated in rural areas, we clear the trees that form the cities' borders and settle the fertile plains. Cities and highways with excessive lighting have a detrimental effect on the quality of life for both people and other living things. This was enhanced by the addition of electromagnetic waves. These waves, which are surrounded by invisible nets, also pose dangers to humans and other living things (9). As a result of all of these changes, natural species are gradually becoming extinct. Today's people are also judged on the basis of their consumption. Increased garbage is one of the primary measures of consumption. The proliferation of synthetic/plastic materials in consumer items and their packaging has elevated the importance of garbage recycling. We are now discussing worldwide pollution of the air, soil, and oceans.

Without a doubt, the Middle Ages saw the destruction of forests as a result of activities such as carpentry and blacksmithing, as well as air pollution in some towns as a result of the heavy reliance on coal. London is credited with being the first city to suffer from air pollution towards the end of the 13th century. (10).

  (9) Zehra Deniz Yakıncı, “Elektromanyetik Alanın İnsan Sağlığı Üzerindeki Etkileri,” İnönü Üniversitesi Sağlık Hizmetleri Meslek Yüksekokulu Dergisi, Cilt: 4, Sayı:2, 2016, s. 49-51.

  (10) Jean Gimpel, Ortaçağda Endüstri Devrimi, çev. Nazım Özüaydın, 8. Bs., Ankara: TÜBİTAK Yayınları, 2005, s. 73-80.

However, the Industrial Revolution had a global influence on the environment. Indeed, when we consider the evolution of the electrical appliances we use in our homes, this is readily apparent. Initially powered by batteries, then by electricity, radios, televisions, refrigerators, electric irons, electric oven-cookers, and electric kitchen appliances such as vacuum cleaners, heaters, fans, electric water heaters, washing machines and dishwashers, combi boilers, tumble dryers, computers, tablets, and smartphones, as well as air conditioners and newly introduced robot vacuums and dehumidifiers. Meanwhile, electronic appliances used in kitchens and personal care are becoming increasingly desirable. Apart from the hair dryer, we now prepare coffee in the machine, knead dough in the machine, and use electric hair straighteners and rechargeable toothbrushes. Of course, while we use a high number of electrically connected vehicles in and around our homes, there are also significant energy expenditures associated with their manufacture. The table below illustrates how global energy consumption has climbed over the years, and while industrial electricity consumption has decreased in industrialized countries, consumption is still very high in comparison to forty years ago. (11):

  (11) Halim Tatlı, Beşir Koç, “Enerji Tüketimi Ve Enerji Fiyatları Bağlamında Türkiye’nin OECD Ülkeleri İçindeki Yeri,” Bingöl Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Cilt: 8, Sayı: 15, 2018, s. 360, 362.

Without a doubt, the more energy we consume for our comfort, the more we degrade nature. We use additional energy combating the ramifications of this destruction. Here comes the paradox of the comfortable life. The destruction of nature for energy results in global climate change, making summers hotter and necessitating the use of more air conditioners to stay cool (we are starting to use air conditioners in houses, even in every room, except workplaces). As a result, although we believe we are cooling down, we are actually killing more of nature and increasing global warming. This global paradox manifests itself in our personal life as well. We use more technology tools for our comfort, we move less when we use them, they affect our health, and as a result, we require a much greater number of technological instruments.

While people are aware of the paradox of affluent life, they are unable to articulate it, they are responsible for increasing energy consumption on a daily basis. Because comfort is a primary goal of daily life, and people, with the exception of brief experiences, do not want to give up their comfort (for example, camping in the forest for a few days or settling in a new house). Additionally, the problems are deferred to future generations. Individuals who are more mindful experiment in a variety of ways, for example, by joining environmental movements or by attempting to live in accordance with a minimalist worldview. However, the problem is too large to be solved by individuals or tiny communities, and it continues to develop rapidly. In this circumstance, drastic measures must be taken by governments, both as individuals and as a society. By radical measures, I mean force majeure measures, not high taxation-based deterrent measures. As an example, suppose that all city lights are shut off at 1 a.m., shop window lighting is fully gone, and workplaces are closed until 8 p.m. Significant energy savings will be realized in this instance, and individuals will sleep earlier at night. Stopping the growth of cities through zoning plans and requiring migration to adhere to specified criteria will prevent the city's distances from increasing and resulting in increased energy consumption. Even under this framework, each family may be permitted to own only one vehicle and may be prohibited from purchasing a second. Similarly, the number of air conditioners and heaters in a house might be restricted.

I am aware that I am approaching a dystopia here and see a severe surveillance/control mechanism concealed beneath the guise of safeguarding the environment, energy, and human health. In this scenario, arguments that individuals with money can obtain second and third vehicles via people who lack money, as well as other problems, may arise. To my mind, no democratic state can adopt such a system, political parties cannot guarantee such an election, and public cannot be convinced before the world faces a big catastrophe. Thus, what will transpire? The world will retain its comfort level until essential boundaries are reached inside the paradox of comfortable living. Additionally, one may argue that a person creates his own doom with his own hands.

*Professor, Uludağ University