Understood in this way, having a desire is like having an addiction. Smoking a
cigarette alleviates the craving for a cigarette, but it does not enhance the quality
of a smoker’s life. Ignoring the health risks of a tobacco habit, smokers are not
better off than non-smokers because they satisfy more cravings. They would be
better off without these cravings. And, in general, the satisfaction of a desire
doesn’t add anything to our lives; it simply fills a void. If the ideal state of being is
a state of “fullness,” and if satisfying a desire simply amounts to filling a void,
then clearly we are no better off as a result of having a desire satisfied than we
would have been if we never had the desire.