The Transcended Omniverse
Well-Known Member
emotions is a term in psychology. If you were to talk to any psychologist, then I bet they'd bring it up. As a matter of fact, you can look that term up online yourself.
Other Person's Response: It seems to me you're saying that, if someone feels pleasure abusing people, then that is the right thing to do because, if someone enjoys doing things, like abuse, exploitation, and cruelty, then how can they judge them to be bad? I think it's possible to judge things as bad that we enjoy doing, or desire. Are you saying emotions are the only valid way to the truth of values?
My Reply: Yes. That's what I'm saying.
Other Person's Response: Since it's a beautiful thing for a psychopath to harm an innocent person if he felt good from that, then we might as well allow him to do that, according to your view. No need for any police to take him away.
My Reply: Actually, here's how it would work out. From the psychopath's perspective, it would be a beautiful thing to harm that innocent person. But, from another person's perspective (such as the police), it would be a horrible deed, since they'd feel awful about that. Therefore, the police would still see every reason to arrest that psychopath because it would still be something horrible from their perspective.
Other Person's Response: According to you though, if the police struggled with depression, and couldn't feel the motivation to arrest that psychopath, then they might as well give up on arresting him.
My Reply: They could still go through with arresting him anyway. But, it just wouldn't matter, and there'd be no value in doing so.
Other Person's Response: I don't think positive emotions are holy, divine, and the only beautiful things in life. They can be used to harm others, and do other foolish things.
My Reply: In a movie or anime, a holy, divine relic or holy, sacred powers can be used to harm others, and for other foolish purposes. But, just because the relic and powers can be used in such a manner doesn't make them unholy. We wouldn't all of a sudden say that the relic and powers are evil.
For example, the Dragon Balls are used to grant wishes in the anime Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super. They even grant wishes to evil characters. But, just because they grant wishes to evil characters wouldn't all of a sudden mean we'd say the Dragon Balls are unholy or evil. In other words, they're still sacred, divine items no matter what. So, positive emotions are still holy, beautiful, and divine no matter what.
Other Person's Response: You sound like a religious person, given the fact that you refer to positive emotions as being "god's holy light within us."
My Reply: I would describe the religious form of my worldview to be Spiritual Hedonism, Divine Hedonism, or New Age Hedonism. But, hedonism in a purely naturalistic universe would simply be hedonism. The religious form of my worldview would say that we need the holy light within us to make our lives beautiful. But, the secular form of my worldview would say that we need those feel-good biochemicals to make our lives beautiful.
Other Person's Response: I don't even understand the hunger and thirst analogy you made earlier. But, put simply, emotions, by themselves, without interpretation, are insufficient for valuing something. It's like saying sperm is needed to create life.
But, the problem is that it's insufficient to just have sperm, and then create life. You need to fertilize an egg. Emotions (among other things) may be necessary for valuing something. At least, I think intellect alone is insufficient. You need at least something like self-interest, or a value structure.
If you take an example of a dog, for instance, he has many things he likes; his toys, treats, and tummy rubs. Does he value those things? That's a philosophical question, don't you see that? You must say "Yes, because he likes those things, it MEANS he values them," which is, by definition, an interpretation. That's a necessary step. You can't bypass it by adding spirituality or whatever.
My Reply: How it works is that you think something has value and, once that thought makes you feel value in regards to that thing, that's the moment said thing has value to you. By the way, positive emotions are the reward wanting and liking in the brain, and you said liking was necessary to perceive value. So, that says, right there, positive emotions are the perception of value.
Other Person's Response: Firstly, we don't "perceive" or "experience" value in philosophy. It's an idea, or belief, about the importance or worth of something, like an ideal. It's not about whether something "matters" to you or not. That's not the same thing as valuing something. You can interpret or infer that if something "matters to you," like, for instance, your appearance, then you must value your appearance. Actually, that's not true. The person could value any number of things that result in their appearance mattering to them.
I also never said that "liking was necessary to perceive value." What I said was that someone might interpret liking something as meaning they value it. The "causal chain" of "you think your mother is valuable + positive emotion = allowed to perceive your mother as valuable" is just forced. If you think your mother is valuable, then you've already perceived that. Why do you need a positive emotion to allow it a second time? Makes no sense.
Positive emotions are not rewards. That is an interpretation. You can do things that are completely undeserving of reward, and still feel a positive emotion, unless you're making an evolutionary argument, and not a philosophical one. In which case, I don't know enough about evolutionary biology to comment on that. It wouldn't make a difference though. People don't value based off of positive emotions alone. That can be effortlessly observed by anyone.
My Reply: There's a difference between thought and perception though, and I think we do perceive value. That all goes back to my color red analogy. Also, perceiving value is the same thing as valuing something.
Other Person's Response: I can still value something in life, but said thing not mattering to me. Perceiving and experiencing value isn't the same thing as valuing something though.
My Reply: I'll just say what I said before, and I'll also say one last thing, which is new. I think you're wrong when you say valuing something as beautiful or horrible isn't the same thing as that thing mattering to you. For example, if a life-changing event happened to you, and it didn't matter to you, how could you say that you've valued that event as good or beautiful? When something matters to you, this means it's important to you which, in turn, means you value it.
If you were focused on two items (such as a toy and a jewel), and you said that the jewel was something you valued over the toy, even though the toy mattered to you, then we'd say that the jewel mattered to you more than the toy. From there, we'd say that the toy was also something you valued, since it mattered to you. But, you'd value it less than the jewel.
Other Person's Response: You said earlier though that something can matter to you, but you don't value it.
My Reply: Yes. But, in order to value something, it must matter to you.
Other Person's Response: Wanting and liking something doesn't always mean it matters to me.
My Reply: If someone said he wanted and liked the idea of going to the carnival, and didn't want and like the idea of being there for his family, but that being there for his family is what truly mattered to him, and the idea of going to the carnival isn't what mattered to him, this would be false.
If being there for his family is what mattered to him, then he either wanted that, or liked that. The idea of going to the carnival would have to matter to him. But, it would matter to him less than being there for his family. So, he'd have to want, or like, being there for his family more than wanting or liking the idea of going to the carnival.
Other Person's Response: I think hedonism is very selfish.
My Reply: It's a righteous and justified form of selfishness. Hedonists seek to be in their divine state, and that's a beautiful thing. Actually, they'd need their positive emotions in the first place to make it a beautiful thing. Otherwise, they'd just be beings of darkness, or empty vessels, trying to regain their divine state.
That would be nothing beautiful because it would be hell trying to get back to that divine state, or just an apathetic endeavor. During my worst, miserable moments, it was hell waiting, and trying to get back to my fully recovered state. Later on, it became an apathetic endeavor, since I eventually got out of that hell, recovered into an apathetic state, and, finally, recovered back into my positive, divine state.
Other Person's Response: Positive emotions are not some divine state. They're nothing more than the inner child, telling us we want this and like that.
My Reply: Then again, hunger and thirst are messages to our brains, telling us that we need to eat this or drink that. But, that doesn't make hunger and thirst the inner child.
Other Person's Response: If you had the choice to have those miserable moments on a very few occasions each day, for the rest of your life, or to instead endure through all of it at once like you did, and get it done and over with, which would you choose?
My Reply: I'd choose to get it done and over with because I want those negative emotions out of my life for good.
Other Person's Response: I think value and your emotions have been combined into one experience for you in your brain through a process known as conditioning. I don't think emotions themselves ever were value judgments, or perceptions of value.
My Reply: That could be possible. What's interesting about conditioning is that, if I were to listen to a heavy metal song while being out in nature, the next time I listen to that heavy metal song, I feel like this song has a naturalistic element to it, even though it doesn't, which would make it an irrational feeling. This is because 2 types of stimuli have been combined (conditioned) together. Those two stimuli would be nature, and the heavy metal song.
So, different combinations of stimuli will create different feelings. It's not a matter of it being two separate feelings, such as me feeling "Wow, there's my heavy metal song!" and "Ah, there's that beautiful, joyful nature feeling!" Instead, these two stimuli have been combined together into one feeling. This creates a heavy, hardcore, naturalistic feeling. Think of it this way. If you were to combine the colors red and yellow, you wouldn't have two separate colors together.
Other Person's Response: It seems to me you're saying that, if someone feels pleasure abusing people, then that is the right thing to do because, if someone enjoys doing things, like abuse, exploitation, and cruelty, then how can they judge them to be bad? I think it's possible to judge things as bad that we enjoy doing, or desire. Are you saying emotions are the only valid way to the truth of values?
My Reply: Yes. That's what I'm saying.
Other Person's Response: Since it's a beautiful thing for a psychopath to harm an innocent person if he felt good from that, then we might as well allow him to do that, according to your view. No need for any police to take him away.
My Reply: Actually, here's how it would work out. From the psychopath's perspective, it would be a beautiful thing to harm that innocent person. But, from another person's perspective (such as the police), it would be a horrible deed, since they'd feel awful about that. Therefore, the police would still see every reason to arrest that psychopath because it would still be something horrible from their perspective.
Other Person's Response: According to you though, if the police struggled with depression, and couldn't feel the motivation to arrest that psychopath, then they might as well give up on arresting him.
My Reply: They could still go through with arresting him anyway. But, it just wouldn't matter, and there'd be no value in doing so.
Other Person's Response: I don't think positive emotions are holy, divine, and the only beautiful things in life. They can be used to harm others, and do other foolish things.
My Reply: In a movie or anime, a holy, divine relic or holy, sacred powers can be used to harm others, and for other foolish purposes. But, just because the relic and powers can be used in such a manner doesn't make them unholy. We wouldn't all of a sudden say that the relic and powers are evil.
For example, the Dragon Balls are used to grant wishes in the anime Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super. They even grant wishes to evil characters. But, just because they grant wishes to evil characters wouldn't all of a sudden mean we'd say the Dragon Balls are unholy or evil. In other words, they're still sacred, divine items no matter what. So, positive emotions are still holy, beautiful, and divine no matter what.
Other Person's Response: You sound like a religious person, given the fact that you refer to positive emotions as being "god's holy light within us."
My Reply: I would describe the religious form of my worldview to be Spiritual Hedonism, Divine Hedonism, or New Age Hedonism. But, hedonism in a purely naturalistic universe would simply be hedonism. The religious form of my worldview would say that we need the holy light within us to make our lives beautiful. But, the secular form of my worldview would say that we need those feel-good biochemicals to make our lives beautiful.
Other Person's Response: I don't even understand the hunger and thirst analogy you made earlier. But, put simply, emotions, by themselves, without interpretation, are insufficient for valuing something. It's like saying sperm is needed to create life.
But, the problem is that it's insufficient to just have sperm, and then create life. You need to fertilize an egg. Emotions (among other things) may be necessary for valuing something. At least, I think intellect alone is insufficient. You need at least something like self-interest, or a value structure.
If you take an example of a dog, for instance, he has many things he likes; his toys, treats, and tummy rubs. Does he value those things? That's a philosophical question, don't you see that? You must say "Yes, because he likes those things, it MEANS he values them," which is, by definition, an interpretation. That's a necessary step. You can't bypass it by adding spirituality or whatever.
My Reply: How it works is that you think something has value and, once that thought makes you feel value in regards to that thing, that's the moment said thing has value to you. By the way, positive emotions are the reward wanting and liking in the brain, and you said liking was necessary to perceive value. So, that says, right there, positive emotions are the perception of value.
Other Person's Response: Firstly, we don't "perceive" or "experience" value in philosophy. It's an idea, or belief, about the importance or worth of something, like an ideal. It's not about whether something "matters" to you or not. That's not the same thing as valuing something. You can interpret or infer that if something "matters to you," like, for instance, your appearance, then you must value your appearance. Actually, that's not true. The person could value any number of things that result in their appearance mattering to them.
I also never said that "liking was necessary to perceive value." What I said was that someone might interpret liking something as meaning they value it. The "causal chain" of "you think your mother is valuable + positive emotion = allowed to perceive your mother as valuable" is just forced. If you think your mother is valuable, then you've already perceived that. Why do you need a positive emotion to allow it a second time? Makes no sense.
Positive emotions are not rewards. That is an interpretation. You can do things that are completely undeserving of reward, and still feel a positive emotion, unless you're making an evolutionary argument, and not a philosophical one. In which case, I don't know enough about evolutionary biology to comment on that. It wouldn't make a difference though. People don't value based off of positive emotions alone. That can be effortlessly observed by anyone.
My Reply: There's a difference between thought and perception though, and I think we do perceive value. That all goes back to my color red analogy. Also, perceiving value is the same thing as valuing something.
Other Person's Response: I can still value something in life, but said thing not mattering to me. Perceiving and experiencing value isn't the same thing as valuing something though.
My Reply: I'll just say what I said before, and I'll also say one last thing, which is new. I think you're wrong when you say valuing something as beautiful or horrible isn't the same thing as that thing mattering to you. For example, if a life-changing event happened to you, and it didn't matter to you, how could you say that you've valued that event as good or beautiful? When something matters to you, this means it's important to you which, in turn, means you value it.
If you were focused on two items (such as a toy and a jewel), and you said that the jewel was something you valued over the toy, even though the toy mattered to you, then we'd say that the jewel mattered to you more than the toy. From there, we'd say that the toy was also something you valued, since it mattered to you. But, you'd value it less than the jewel.
Other Person's Response: You said earlier though that something can matter to you, but you don't value it.
My Reply: Yes. But, in order to value something, it must matter to you.
Other Person's Response: Wanting and liking something doesn't always mean it matters to me.
My Reply: If someone said he wanted and liked the idea of going to the carnival, and didn't want and like the idea of being there for his family, but that being there for his family is what truly mattered to him, and the idea of going to the carnival isn't what mattered to him, this would be false.
If being there for his family is what mattered to him, then he either wanted that, or liked that. The idea of going to the carnival would have to matter to him. But, it would matter to him less than being there for his family. So, he'd have to want, or like, being there for his family more than wanting or liking the idea of going to the carnival.
Other Person's Response: I think hedonism is very selfish.
My Reply: It's a righteous and justified form of selfishness. Hedonists seek to be in their divine state, and that's a beautiful thing. Actually, they'd need their positive emotions in the first place to make it a beautiful thing. Otherwise, they'd just be beings of darkness, or empty vessels, trying to regain their divine state.
That would be nothing beautiful because it would be hell trying to get back to that divine state, or just an apathetic endeavor. During my worst, miserable moments, it was hell waiting, and trying to get back to my fully recovered state. Later on, it became an apathetic endeavor, since I eventually got out of that hell, recovered into an apathetic state, and, finally, recovered back into my positive, divine state.
Other Person's Response: Positive emotions are not some divine state. They're nothing more than the inner child, telling us we want this and like that.
My Reply: Then again, hunger and thirst are messages to our brains, telling us that we need to eat this or drink that. But, that doesn't make hunger and thirst the inner child.
Other Person's Response: If you had the choice to have those miserable moments on a very few occasions each day, for the rest of your life, or to instead endure through all of it at once like you did, and get it done and over with, which would you choose?
My Reply: I'd choose to get it done and over with because I want those negative emotions out of my life for good.
Other Person's Response: I think value and your emotions have been combined into one experience for you in your brain through a process known as conditioning. I don't think emotions themselves ever were value judgments, or perceptions of value.
My Reply: That could be possible. What's interesting about conditioning is that, if I were to listen to a heavy metal song while being out in nature, the next time I listen to that heavy metal song, I feel like this song has a naturalistic element to it, even though it doesn't, which would make it an irrational feeling. This is because 2 types of stimuli have been combined (conditioned) together. Those two stimuli would be nature, and the heavy metal song.
So, different combinations of stimuli will create different feelings. It's not a matter of it being two separate feelings, such as me feeling "Wow, there's my heavy metal song!" and "Ah, there's that beautiful, joyful nature feeling!" Instead, these two stimuli have been combined together into one feeling. This creates a heavy, hardcore, naturalistic feeling. Think of it this way. If you were to combine the colors red and yellow, you wouldn't have two separate colors together.