Timeless Wisdom: Ultimate Issues Hour: Single Solution to Life's Problems

Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to DennisPrager.com. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. Every week at this time, an hour devoted to some great question of life. And this one, I feel I will have something to bother everybody listening. But here goes. Hi everybody, this is Dennis Prager, The Ultimate Issues Hour. And you could title this one, Life is Messy, because it is. And the human being has a deep, deep urge to believe that there is one answer that will— or one solution, not answer, forget that word— there's one solution to life's problems. If we can just get that one, then by golly, everything will follow from it. The secular have this, the religious have this, and a combination of both have this. It is the deepest human drive to want to believe that there is out there a single solution to life's problems, because everybody has problems, and for everybody, life is a, a great challenge, so that there is understandably the deepest desire to believe there's one solution out there. Now, there are in fact many solutions, but there isn't one. That's my argument on this edition of the Ultimate Issues Hour. Let me give you some examples because otherwise it doesn't make sense. I remember a girl, when we still use the word girl to describe somebody who was still 11. I'll never forget there was a book on a feminist reading list and it was a book of poems by an anonymous 5-year-old woman. That's what it was titled. But when, uh, when I was in college and graduate school, we still referred to the females as girls. Anyway, I— there was a girl that I was dating in graduate school, and I liked her a lot, but I, I have to say, this phone call pretty much made it clear that we weren't going to have a permanent future. We were talking on the phone and she was raised in a modern religious home. But here she was at graduate school in, of all things, psychology. And she said to me on the phone, I obviously, you know, I love this phrase, I will never forget. We obviously have never forgotten. So of course we won't. As of tomorrow, I won't forget. But I, I will— I have never forgotten this, and I have forgotten a lot. That's why I wish I had kept a diary. She said to me, Dennis, I am convinced that all of life will be understood through psychology. We don't have all the answers yet, but psychology will explain all human behavior. And we will have the answers, therefore, to all of human problems through psychology. And she believed this, and I remember thinking, well, what happened to all of the religious education she had? And the answer was it had been subverted at the secular university. She later went back to it, and she would laugh at this notion today. But in any event, that is what she believed, and a lot of people in the secular world— and I will give you a critique of the religious world in a moment— But a lot of people in the secular world have believed that, that ultimately psychology really does explain everything, and, and, and if you want your problems solved, then go to therapy. Now remember, I am pro-psychotherapy when there is a good psychotherapist, which is not the majority of the time. It's the minority of the time, and that's a very, very big problem, but not for this show, not for this hour. It is for this show, but not for this hour. Remember, I wanna, I have to keep repeating this. To say that something is not the single solution is not to say that it cannot contribute to helping solve life's problems. There is a huge difference between a single solution and one of a number. So in the secular world, there has been a widespread belief that with the right therapy, the right psychotherapy, by golly, you can more or less solve all your problems. Now, it can't solve the problem, obviously, if you go deaf, it can't solve the problem of your deafness, although it could help you live with it, I guess. But I'm not talking about physical problems now. I'm talking about the emotional, psychological, moral and other problems that people face on a daily basis. There is, again, there is a very deep human desire to believe that there is one solution. That's one example of a secular explanation. Life can— the problems of life can be solved through psycho- a psychological awareness, psychotherapy, etc., because that, that is, that is what we are, psychological beings. You get the right therapy, you end your problems, more or less. Now the religious have a very similar take, except it's not psychology, it's religion or faith. Your problems end if you become a believer or if you become religious, whatever term the members of that given religion will believe. There are many millions, tens, hundreds of millions of people who believe that that is all that is needed. If you do the religion right, then you have ended your problems. If you do your religion right, You will not have marital problems. You will not have problems with your children. You will not have problems with your friends. You will not— it will solve basically all human problems if you just have the right faith or the right practice, whatever the given religion will offer. It's a very tempting belief, and I understand it being deeply religious. It's very tempting to believe if you just do the religion right, by golly, life's problems pretty much end. But that's not true either. I believe that God and religion are indispensable to solving life's problems, but not sufficient. It's a concept called necessary but not sufficient. And I give you the greatest example of this insight. It was actually offered by a Christian pastor And it was one of the only fan letters I ever wrote in my life to thank this pastor for this insight that I had read somewhere. He points out that in Genesis, God makes his first observation about human life when he says, looking at Adam, "It is not good for man to be alone." And God makes him a partner whom he then calls— the partner is a woman. And he then calls her Eve, and we know the rest of the story. At least many do, not— but not if you went to college, but that's a separate story too. Now, the point the pastor was making was, in my opinion, brilliant. Not a term I use often. What God was saying there was, I, God, am not enough for man. After all, Adam knew God. Why? So why did— why would God say then it is not good for man to be alone? How could— Adam wasn't alone. Adam had God. But this pastor was making this brilliant point that God is saying, even I, God, am not sufficient. The human being needs a human partner. Not just me. So even God, though in my opinion utterly necessary to solving humanity's and the individual human's problems, is not sufficient. Nor is any given religion alone sufficient. Necessary when they are good religions and they do good. But not sufficient. The human temptation is to believe that there is somewhere a one solution, a single solution to life's myriad problems. But there isn't. There are many solutions, not one. I will give you another example of a political one. I gave you psychology, I gave you religion, I will give you a political one. That has existed for 200 years? Your reactions on this Ultimate Issues Hour are now welcome. 1-800-PRAGER-776. 1-800-PRAGER-776. You are listening to The Dennis Prager Show. This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom. Hi everybody and welcome back. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour, 21 minutes past the hour of the Ultimate Issues Hour. Let's see how, how many times I could say the word hour. I'm Dennis Prager, an hour devoted each week— that was inadvertent. That was a fine— that's so silly. It's an hour devoted each week. It's what happens when you concentrate on one word. You can drive yourself out of your mind. All right, an hour devoted each week to some great issue of life, and this one is the human desire to find one solution to all of life's problems that it doesn't exist. There are many solutions. That's why in my book on happiness, for example, I write a chapter where I commend both psychotherapy and religion. A lot of religious people think that psychotherapy is not necessary because after all, they're believers or they're religious in whatever way the religion wants. So that should answer their problems. There are people in the secular world who think, oh, they don't need God or religion. Nah, they'll just go to therapy and that'll answer all their problems. And both are wrong. It doesn't work that way. There is no one solution, and this is hardly a critique of the excellence of some of these things. Now, there are some things that are offered as a solution that are actually just harmful. For example, I said there would be a political one. I gave you a psychological one. I gave you the religious one. There's a political one. The belief that emanated from Marx in the early 19th century that the great problem was inequality and the world will become a beautiful place where everybody will just love beautiful music and write poetry and be kind to one another as soon as you abolish all economic inequality. That still pervades a great part of the political spectrum. To this day. If only we get rid of inequality, then we will get rid of crime, we will get rid of jealousy, we will get rid of envy, we will get rid of cruelty, we will get rid of corruption, we will get rid of theft. If just everybody had the same, to each according to his needs, from each according to his ability, as the Marxist phrase went. So that was their belief in one solution. And there are others. If you have examples of the one solution idea, I'd be happy to hear from you. 1-800-PRAGER-776. And now I will take your calls. Does this trouble you? Did you think, for example, your religion answers all issues and you need nothing else in life? That's why I gave you the brilliant comment of that pastor, that even God was not enough when God— and God said that when he said it is not good for man to be alone. God needs a woman, that God alone is not even sufficient. And a lot— there are religious people who think, I don't need people, I just need God. But that's not the way we were made. It's not the way God made us, any more than we only need people and we don't need God, or we only need great art and we don't need people. We need a lot of things. That's the way God made us. 1:8. Prager 776, and we go to Ethan in Ogden, Utah. Hi, Ethan, this is Dennis Prager. Thanks for calling.

Hi, Dennis. Um, I, I have to disagree with you on the religion part, and I think one thing that, that you're not considering is the possibility of a religion to encompass all, all things. I mean, in my faith, for example, we, um, we don't have that discrepancy on the psychotherapy and, and religion. We, we embrace all the sciences. One of our early leaders, Brigham Young, stated that all of the science and arts belong to the Saints, that we're supposed to pursue, um, the glory of God is intelligence, basically. That it's kind of an all-encompassing thing, that as we pursue knowledge and answers in all areas, that, that is our religion.

Well, we're not saying different things here. The fact that the religion embraces all these different things is a great credit to your religion and, and to you. But it doesn't in any way negate what I'm saying, that, uh, that the religion acknowledges— what it's saying is the religion acknowledges that there are a number of things necessary for a good life. The religion alone is not sufficient. Well, but I mean, you're obviously LDS, and, and The church does, I don't think, makes the claim that there, there is nothing except a church attendance or a religious life. Now you'll say, well, a religious life encompasses the arts. Yeah, but it's encompassing the secular arts. It's, it's not encompassing just a religious art, let alone just LDS art. And are you allowed to go to— are you allowed to go to a therapist who is not a Mormon?

Uh, it's, uh, what I think—

no, no, wait, wait, wait, please answer that. If you don't know the answer, that's okay.

I'm not— no, no, I said yes.

Okay, then that, then that's my point. Then clearly that, that therapist is not within the confines of LDS theology or religiosity, and so the church is, is wisely saying there are things that are good for you in making a better life that are not under the domain of the church.

Well, not, not owned or, or specifically dictated by the church, but it's saying that since all, all things from God— I mean that—

yes, I think all things are from God just like you do. Exactly. But I— but hear me through, Ethan. All things are from God. I believe that totally. But, but that is— but that That's not relevant to the argument that I'm making because you can— it is possible for you to get good therapy from a secular therapist. It is possible. I think secular is— I think that often a religious therapist will do better for the religious person in having sympathy, but not necessarily. You can go to an atheist surgeon. We all recognize that a surgeon might be an atheist, he might be even anti-religious, and be the best heart surgeon in one city. All right, anyway, it's an important call because, because the distinction may be subtle. Steve in Minneapolis, Dennis Prager, thank you for calling.

Hi Dennis, it's an honor to speak with you.

Thank you.

I just wanted to bring up a point of clarification. Earlier you were claiming that religion offers the one solution.

And no, no, not the religion, some religious people.

Oh, okay.

I never said the religion does. I said religious people.

Well, then there it is. I wanted to defend Christianity at least, which—

yeah, yeah, that I'm very, I'm very clear. Uh, 99% of the time I choose my words well. 1% I didn't, and I got clobbered, but this is another issue. Uh, but, but This is very important. I don't think there are— I think there are religions that may claim there is nothing outside of the religion that is necessary. I think that there are elements today, I think, but they— I don't know if it's the religion or it's the elements of people. In other words, the elements of the religion is constituted by, you know, some of the people, like those who say within the Islamists who will say, I think anything outside of that is probably considered, you know, not acceptable. I don't know the position of Islam. I never in any event assess religions, I assess practitioners. If you want to respond, please stay on, Steve. But I'm saying that there are religious people who say that. Back in a moment. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour on the Dennis Prager Show, and it's 34 minutes past the hour in this hour. And I think that Alan says this is really important. He doesn't say that all the time. He thinks that, but he doesn't say it. And thinks that it'll really make people think, and it should. It's very helpful to you if you think this through and you're open to what I'm saying here. I'm talking to you about the belief that many people have, secular and religious, that something is the one solution if just this happens. Or if people just embrace this thinking or this whatever, then this life's— then my problems are over. I'm thinking of three. There are religious people who say this, not religions that I know of, religious people. And there are secular people who say it about therapy, about psychology generally. And there is a political ideology that if we just get rid of inequality, then overwhelmingly people will be happy. Be happy. There will be no envy, jealousy, murder, crime, rape, all the things that afflict humanity. This will just— equality will more or less solve it. There are many, many solutions to life's problems, and not all of life's problems are even solvable in any event. And that's what a mature person has to recognize at some point. And I say this as a deeply religious person. Who does believe that without God it is very hard to find any of these answers. 1-800-PRAEGER-776. And we go to Bloomington, Illinois, and Anoop. Hello, Anoop. Dennis Prager.

Sir, it's a pleasure to get an opportunity to talk to you.

Thank you.

It's an honor. Thanks. Um, I would like to point out that I'm a Hindu basically, and, uh, you know, I, I agree to all, most of what you say, but, but here I have to disagree because I think, uh, religion has the answer basically. At least Hinduism I think has an answer the way God has pointed out to us. You know, I think in today's world every human being here, they just, you know, the way it's been presented to them, it's like Everything is an answer. We want an answer right away and it's readily available in science, you know. I agree. I mean, I'm an electrical engineer, so I know science, but, but, you know, I'm very, very religious the way we have been taught. It's like if we have patience, we rely on God and we meditate for our problem, the answer will come to us eventually. It's like we need patience, that's all.

Well, in other words, with patience and meditation, proper patience, proper meditation within a Hindu framework, all of life's problems will be solved. I don't mean the problem of a broken leg, but all of life's emotional, psychological problems. Let me ask you a question. What if you were abused by your father or your uncle when you were 5, sexually abused.

Uh, yeah.

Uh, do you feel that, uh, a therapist can in no way help you?

Well, here's the thing. Just see, in India, apart from where I am— because I, you know, I grew up in India and then I came here to get a job because I got a job and everything else— what I'm saying is, in India, we never had a problem like sexual abuse. At least it's not as profound as here, you know. So it's something—

well, I, I don't know. I don't know if that's true. I, I don't know if it's as reported. I, I, I mean, you know, there were, there were other problems with the caste system that did not exist in the West.

Oh, absolutely. I agree to that. There is no doubt about it.

Well, it's hard to believe. It's hard to believe that the underclass was never sexually abused.

Well, maybe they were abused, but what I'm saying is, I mean, religion is the answer. I mean, these people, they're criminals, you know. They Here's the thing, you know, here's what my belief is, all right? What I think is science is continually evolving. I mean, the psych— the psychiatrists that were there like 100 years ago, they would have— if they were there, they would have had a different point of view to the problem.

Yeah, but I'm not saying that science is this— nobody— very few people— there are some people who say science is solution, but it's absurd. Now, what scientific discoveries are not going to solve the problems that afflict people emotionally. Are you married?

Yes, I am.

And, and, uh, do you believe that it is possible for two good Hindus to have a bad marriage, or is that impossible?

Absolutely anything is possible.

Well then, well, but, but if Hindu— wait, but if Hinduism is the answer, how could two good Hindus— I'm talking about good Hindus— have a bad marriage?

Well, it depends on what you call good.

I mean, Well, then I'm asking you the best— Okay, well, look, that's the question that I pose. It is inconceivable to me that it is impossible for two good Hindus to have a bad marriage. We'll be back in a moment. Thank you for your call. I hope we continue. This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom. Hi everybody, you're listening to the Ultimate Issues Hour on the Dennis Prager Show, 44 minutes past the hour. There is such a widespread human urge to believe that there is one solution to life's problems. I gave you 3 examples. Those who believe that psychology and psychotherapy ultimately will solve life's problems. Those who believe religion alone. Those who believe equality. And I'll give you a fourth example, love. All you need is love. That's it. That's a big one in contemporary life. All you need is love. That's it. That ends the problems. Make love, not war. Ta-da! Everybody goes home. We all make love and life's problems are solved. No more war and no more hatred and no more bad and no more hurting and no more pain. Love isn't even enough for marriage, let alone for people you're not married to. It's not enough to raise a child just with love. Love is terrific. Love is another example of necessary but not sufficient, like all the other examples that I gave. And this is a substitute for rigorous thinking, this notion that there is one solution. Okay. Let's go to San Diego and Gail. Hello, Gail. Dennis Prager.

Hi, glad to talk to you.

Thank you.

I have thought of one that I certainly bought into as a child of the '60s, and it helped motivate me to become a teacher, and that is I thought that fundamental to a person's enjoyment of many of the psychological health and political enfranchisement and economic prosperity was certainly education. That if we could just educate everyone, then of course they would be happy. And that was the— to me, it appeared the singular solution, or at least a fundamental solution.

Gail, it is really a shame that you cannot see this, the smile on my face. You deserve— on the old Groucho Marx show, for a magic word you got $100. The bird came down.

I—

did they give $100 then? I mean, that was— that's like $1,000 today. You— that, Gail, you hit it.

Well, I've been listening to you long enough to be able to think clearly.

Oh, that's a beautiful compliment. But I want to tell you, I thank you, Gail. You hit it on the nose. That was the next example that I hadn't thought of. You are right. Education, that'll end everything. That'll end all our problems. People will come out. There will be no more bigotry, no more hatred, no more ignorance. Isn't ignorance— ignorance is the source of all our problems. You just educate people. And you know who believe that? Only the well-educated. Ha ha ha! They've been brainwashed into believing that getting a PhD makes you in some way more capable of handling life's problems than, by golly, a college dropout or even a high school dropout. That's why you should know, my friends, you should just know how there is no relationship, none whatsoever, between higher education and any good thing about life except making money. The only thing that you are more likely to have if you get a higher education is a slightly elevated income. That's it. You are not more wise, you are not more happy, you are not more healthy, you are not more emotionally together, you are not more stable. Nothing, nothing. It gives you nothing. Because it is not wisdom education, it's just facts education, and frankly, you're not even getting many facts now. As I told you, I would bet you large sums of money the average college graduate could not identify correctly Joseph Stalin. I would bet you. I would bet you. That's correct. There's the solution. Education. Education. What rubbish. Rot rubbish. I wish it were true. I wish love were true. I wish religion were the one answer, because I'm religious. There isn't one solution. That's the point. Life is messy. That was great, Gail. I think we should give her a hand. Yeah, yeah, well done, well done indeed. All righty, and let's go to Isabel in Denver. Hello, Isabel. Dennis Prager, thank you for calling.

Oh, um, hello, Dennis. I love your show. I learned a lot.

Thank you, that's very kind.

Um, I just want to say that I do think my religion is the answer to all problems because I think, you know, God is omnipotent, but that It doesn't mean, and it never says that, I believe in the Bible, that we will not have problems. We will have a lot of problems.

Okay, so it doesn't solve all the problems. That's all I'm saying.

Well, it doesn't solve them in this life, on this planet.

Okay, this is the only planet I'm talking about now.

Oh, okay, good.

Okay, all right. That's important, Isabel, because I do believe it solves problems in the next life. I do. But right now I'm talking about this one, and I can— God bless you, Isabel, I thank you. 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number. The examples I gave have been equality, love, now education, so correctly, a religion, God, and equality. Things that people offer as the one solution to life's problems. And that's why you hear so often, for example, people say that if two religious people get married, the same exact religion, both absolutely committed, many people in the faith are convinced it's impossible for them to have insoluble problems. After all, they have the same faith and the same God and the same Bible and the same everything. As if there aren't extra-biblical problems, problems that can afflict somebody. I mean, what if the husband or wife had been abused as a child and brings that abuse into the bedroom in an incapacity to respond or an incapacity to function in a normal way? All right, final segment coming up. Try to get in 1-800-711-1111. Prager 776. You are listening to the Ultimate Issues Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

Hi everybody, welcome.

5 minutes past the hour. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour. There is not one solution. There is no single solution to your problems in life. That's what this Ultimate Issues Hour has been about, and people have offered all sorts of single solutions. Their religion or faith on the religious side. On the secular side, we have a whole host of things. Love will solve everything. All you need is love. Make love, not war. That's it. Love will solve all issues. Equality will. That has been a major— all of the offshoots of Marxism have offered equality. You end the inequality, you end the vast majority or just about all of life's problems. And whatever it is, love, education has been offered, therapy has been offered, psychology has been offered as the sole solutions. We go over to Chicago and James— hello, James. Dennis Prager.

Hi, James. Thanks for taking my call.

Thank you, James. You're James, I'm Dennis, but don't worry about it.

Okay, you're right, you're right. I'm sorry, no problem.

I don't mind being called James. Go ahead.

Okay, uh, yes, I just, um, I couldn't help but, uh, think about, uh, something that I remember reading about, and that is that, uh, most humans usually want more of everything and therefore are never satisfied because there's always something else to acquire, whether it's more knowledge or more money or more love, or even the absence of pain.

That's correct. That's a basis of my book, that humans have insatiable natures.

Okay, so I don't know, I guess if it's in your nature, can you get rid of it?

No, you can't, and that's why I have a— I may have a— Are you a Buddhist?

No, but I have read about—

Yeah, well, let me just say a word about this. This is a great example. Thank you for it, because it's another good one. That's the Buddhist answer. The Buddhist solution has been, do not have any desires. If you desire nothing, then how can you have disappointment and pain? But I don't accept that answer. I desire many things, and many of the desires I have are wonderful. I desire children. I desire health. I desire love. I desire intellectual stimulation. I desire friends. My God, I have a mass number of desires and they're very honorable. I also have desires that are, you know, I desire beautiful fountain pens. But so what? Now here is my answer to this. And that belongs to the Happiness Show, but I have to give it to you now. And I did give it. This is what I said to the Indiana Medical Association, to all the doctors at their convention. You have to distinguish between dissatisfaction and unhappiness will always be unsatisfied. The answer is not to get rid of desires. It's not to allow dissatisfaction to make you unhappy. William, Emma, Jason, and the others whose names I don't see, I'm sorry I didn't get to you folks. There is no single solution. Life is messy, but what a wonderful, beautiful challenge it is to find the various solutions that there are. This has been the Ultimate Issues Hour of the Dennis Prager Show. This has been Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis' lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles.