More Philosophy: On Happiness

[EyeKhan]

Fuck, when you put it like that, they should put some of that shit in tap water

Um.

Make it voluntary. When you get tired of life, pop the pill. Government collectors will come around and put you to good use while you're still alive. Pharmaceutical trial volunteer, medical school gross anatomy study subject, crash test dummy, live sex toy, organ donor, weapons test subject, movie violence special effect extra, etc. Your last days will be your happiest days and you'll finally have the opportunity to do some good with your life.

[GGT]

It would not be in the sense that it would make you do something like cut your wrists, though if you did, it would be with happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. If you cannot be anything but happy, content, and satisified, no matter what is happening around you, then what cues would you get to keep yourself from some sort of harm? You would be equally comfortable with or without hunger, pain, sickness, health, danger or safety. How long do you think the typical person would stay alive in this condition?

Interesting point. This pill wouldn't necessarily make everyone who takes it stupid, or suddenly unable to remember history and be rational, would it? Those "cues" would still be there, presuming others don't take the Happy Pill---others' misery or pain would still be observable. Might add a new context to "altruism", though.

[ImAnOgre]

I think it's possible to wire an electrode into the pleasure centre of the brain; the subject dies of starvation eventually as it can't be bothered to eat or drink.

e: That's a bit over-simplistic, it turns out. But maybe the principle holds?

This is what happened in the movie Serenity...the reavers!!!!

[GGT]

Great movie, btw. Shiny!

Humans seem to be drawn to shiny things, as if it's hardwired into our nature. (I've always wondered what that means to the blind.)

Philosophically, I have a problem with the Happy Pill. It assumes things like feeling happy, content, or satisfied is, or should be, a constant state of being.

[GGT]

On another note, don't we already have several different versions of this Happy Pill already, with people hopping between those choices all the damn time? Seems to me that's how our culture has become. Not "happy" stuck in traffic? Drink coffee, eat breakfast, listen to music, talk or text on the cell phone while driving. Not "satisfied" with your job? Check e-mail, play Angry Birds, surf the web, make a bid on e-Bay, send a tweet, take a phone pic and post it on Facebook or some other social media. Not "content" in your relationship? Watch a movie, read a book, read the news, flirt with someone, take a lover, start a project. Hungry but don't have the time, or feel too lazy to make a meal? There's always fast food drive-thru, open 24 hours a day. Feeling sluggish or tired? Start juicing, or pick up one of those "shots" sold in convenience stores.

<I saw a whole rack of those "shots" yesterday at a Sheetz. Two for relaxation and peaceful feelings, one for sleep, and several for energy/mental acuity/muscle strength. For $2.99 anyone can buy a tiny bottle and drink a "shot" that will fix them right up. Hell, our pharmacies are filled with these kind of feel-good pills. Nasal decongestants, NSAIDS, sprays and drops, capsules for every ailment that ails us. When they're not enough, we have the Wine and Spirits store, or beer warehouses....where we can roll out kegs or cases. When that's not enough, we have the illicit drug trades like cocaine/meth/heroin....even weed. If physicians won't give us Happy Pills legally, they find their way into black markets....codeine, oxycontin, morphine, amphetamines, even meds for ADD or rapid heart rate can be "abused" to feel good. Or at least feel better. Hell, that's why kids huff aerosols or drink NyQuil (at least when it used to contain dextromethorphan and pseudoephedrine without special ID).

Everyone is on the hunt for constant and continual pleasures. Dr. Feel Good can even sell us special mattresses with dual dials, so partners can sleep together with different needs for firm or plump. If we can't afford Tempurpedic memory foam, or a Sleep Number bed....we can at least buy Sominex or a bottle of wine to help us pass out....and then add a shot of Energy chemicals to our morning coffee, to get rid of the grogginess. Rinse, repeat.

[GGT]

Um.

Make it voluntary. When you get tired of life, pop the pill. Government collectors will come around and put you to good use while you're still alive. Pharmaceutical trial volunteer, medical school gross anatomy study subject, crash test dummy, live sex toy, organ donor, weapons test subject, movie violence special effect extra, etc. Your last days will be your happiest days and you'll finally have the opportunity to do some good with your life.

Sounds like "Quietus" from the movie Children of Men. One of the best movies I've watched in the last decade. Have you seen it? Or read the book? It's not that Quietus promises our last days will be "happy", or our death beds can benefit others more than our living lives did...but that we'll have some choice and power in how we die, even if we didn't have the same options while we were living and most alive. Stark contrast. Don't let the infertility confuse or distract you....

[Nessus]

Um.

It would be a way cooler social engineering experiment than Communism!