Quote (Haitham @ Oct 11 2010 10:22pm)
Does religion value feeling over rational thought? Seems to me basic concept preached by major religions is fight against your feelings/temptations. The consequence of such a thing is at first a negative emotion, but if the person thinks at a higher level, then this negative emotion becomes a positive one. So I wouldn't say physical happy feelings is the goal of a religious person, it's more of a psychological consequence imo. Feelings is the most important thing to a disbeliever, since he thinks there's no life except this one, so he strives for immediate temporary pleasure ("enjoy life while it lasts"), while the believer in theory sees this life as a prison and strives for the afterlife. Anyways, we cannot ignore that both individuals ultimately strive for happiness.
My point is:
OP is reducing the complexity of the human being into a couple of molecules, it certainly isn't the case. Modern science can't always answer questions related to human behavior, especially those that concern irrational behavior. Yes we are discovering more and more, but that only shows us that man is complex, perhaps the most complex of living beings on the planet.
BTW, if molecules/drugs could do the job of keeping us happy then drug addicts would be at the top of chart in terms of happiness and self-fulfillment. They obviously are not.
I would say religion is a pleasure too, but a better form of pleasure.
The usual type of pleasure such as alcohol, sex etc are strong and short lived. Religion often involves reducing such premitive pleasures which might feel unpleasant at the beginning but this eventually causes the body to start its own natural pleasure producing effects as it does not get provided pleasures from outside, those are longer lasting pleasures. I believe that faith is not nothing in terms of feelings, I think it is a rather strong emotional feeling very similar to pleasure.
"BTW, if molecules/drugs could do the job of keeping us happy then drug addicts would be at the top of chart in terms of happiness and self-fulfillment"
ohoh as you said modern since is difficult, so why should a junky from the street be able to use drugs in a way that give him more life pleasure overall.
I think there is a possibility in drugs to improve someone's life but I believe it backfires in 99.9% of all cases. I don't think this is because it is impossible to improve someones happiness through drugs but because its complex.
Lots of people with psychological disorders can have their life improved. People suffering from adhd can get better in school through medication, schizophrenic attacks can be supressed efficiently in most schizophrenics through drugs etc. (I am not saying that these drugs increase happiness but sometimes decrease pain which is somewhat similar).
have a look at my first message when I have explained the biological components. Do you think every drug addict knows about all that and got access to the right drugs as well as knows his genetic setup in order to determine the type of drug and dosis?
Of course these people won't be the happiest but that's because they misuse rather then use drugs. The problem is, is there anyone who knows how to use drugs?
This post was edited by MyAccountIsOsterHues on Oct 11 2010 11:51pm