Satisfaction consists in freedom from pain, which is the positive element of life.

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) developed a famously pessimistic philosophy in which the “will” is an insatiable striving that makes ordinary existence a cycle of desire, frustration, and boredom. In his ethical and psychological reflections—especially those written for a broader readership later in life—he repeatedly argues that what people call happiness is largely negative: it is felt chiefly as the cessation of suffering rather than as a stable, positive state. The quoted sentence belongs to this line of thought, contrasting fleeting relief from pain with the illusion that life offers enduring positive satisfaction.

The claim defines “satisfaction” not as the presence of pleasure but as the absence of pain. Schopenhauer treats suffering as the basic, “positive” fact of life because it presses on us directly and urgently, while pleasure is typically only a momentary release from some prior lack or discomfort. The quote thus undercuts optimistic moral psychologies and consumer notions of happiness: if desire continually regenerates, then lasting fulfillment is impossible, and the best we can do is reduce suffering. It also helps explain Schopenhauer’s esteem for ascetic restraint and compassion, which aim to quiet the will and thereby lessen pain.