Relativity in Perception

So I think that our perception is all relative. The only way we can perceive something or understand how it makes us feel is comparing the something to something else. Take happiness for example, we can only understand happiness, after experiencing what happiness isn't. Or take the cliche, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." The only way for one to truly experience missing something or the pang of regret, is because there is a before and after. The only reason why there is an experience of emotion is because there is a change of having something to the lack of it.

Edit 10/21/2008:

Thanks to google analytics, many people have been directed to my site from google when searching about "an example of an experience of the relativity of perception". Therefore, I feel the necessity to elaborate to keep my readers happy. I'm going to write this simplistically in terms of how I understand this theory works (an example of relativism in itself?), not the philosophical mumbo jumbo.

So my first and very simple example is when I was in Chipotle with a coworker, she pointed out a few guys in the front of the line to be cute... I begged to differ. Now we have different taste in men, but usually we have similar standards of what is generally attractive. It was simply because out of the 40 people waiting on line for Chipotle, there were no better looking men there, and they were the best looking there.

I think this is the reason why some women are unfriendly towards attractive women. Let's say a woman, who is by general standards to be a 8 is in a room. If there is someone else who is a 10, she is perceived to be less attractive, since she will be compared to the 10. If the 8 were in a room full of 6s, then she'll be perceived as the best looking. (Forgive my shallowness and my use of a rating system to access people's appearance, but I'm friends with shallow guys and I guess I've adapted to their way of thinking...)

So onto another example of relativism that's not as shallow.... When I first got here in London, the directors of the program told us not to compare London to New York. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different. I've tried hard not to, but my only understand of what a city should be like is based around NYC. Therefore, a way to combat relativism and be more objective is through knowledge and looking outside the box. For example, instead of complaining about how London is subpar to New York, I should be trying to experience and understand other places around the world so my perception isn't based on just New York.

And instead of complaining about how "my life sucks", I should think about the less fortunate people around the world who are living in constant fear and hopelessness. My roommate will also be happier if I complain less to her about my life. So relativism is simply a phenomenon that will make us happier, more educated, pragmatic, and objective if we can defeat it.