Imagine This

[Received]

There's a very memorable line (which, of course, I've forgotten verbatim) at the very beginning of Anna Karenina when one of the protagonists (Stepan) is noted to read the morning papers, not because he specifically because he liked the thinking and learning parts intrinsically, but because of the good feeling it gave him to think and learn in these ways.

That's not really thought about too much: the idea of people reading, and thinking, in order to feel good. I think it's clear, if you look closely, that so many academic types are kept in academia because the sense of pleasure and mastery of thinking and comprehending ideas brings pleasure. Like the pervy guy on The Big Lebowski says, "the brain is the biggest erogenous zone."

So we get pleasure -- a dopamine kick -- when we read, think, and obviously when we have sex, eat chocolate, and other things.

Here's the thought: what would the world look like if the "pleasure knob" that's received from doing "sensual" things like having sex, eating too much, and watching TV was turned down for everyone, and the pleasure knob for thinking deeply were turned up?

Another possibility: imagine if the pleasure knob were turned up for acting out your beliefs (i.e., people got a much more significant dopamine kick from acting according to their beliefs) and the sensual things and thinking knobs were turned down. What would happen?

Or three: sensual things and thinking things were turned down but the pleasure knob for acting out of your beliefs were turned up?

What would the world look like in each of these scenarios?

 

[quatona]

Here's the thought: what would the world look like if the "pleasure knob" that's received from doing "sensual" things like having sex, eating too much, and watching TV was turned down for everyone, and the pleasure knob for thinking deeply were turned up?

People would have less sex, would eat less and watch less TV, and instead would think deeply more.

Another possibility: imagine if the pleasure knob were turned up for acting out your beliefs (i.e., people got a much more significant dopamine kick from acting according to their beliefs) and the sensual things and thinking knobs were turned down. What would happen?

People would do more of the former and less of the latter.

Or three: sensual things and thinking things were turned down but the pleasure knob for acting out of your beliefs were turned up?

I don´t understand the difference between 2 and 3.

What would the world look like in each of these scenarios?

That´s a very general question. I don´t know. What changes/differences are you thinking of, specifically - beyond the obvious?

Here´s another one: What if the pleasure knob for chopping of your right leg would be turned up, and the pleasure knob for acting upon other persons´ beliefs would be turned down?

 

[Gottservant]

I don't know, for me, to my line of thinking, thinking involves actually believing something.

I think if thinking deeply were also more pleasurable than the other things you mention, people would think about largely useless stuff (and expect it to pass for deep thought).

What's needed is a culture of exploration, intellectually - as in the example you give by asking us to discuss this.

 

[TillICollapse]

I'm not sure how common or uncommon it is ... but I am guessing it's already quite common for people to experience their "pleasure knob" being turned up from a wide variety of activities and input.

I dated a girl who could [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] from deep conversations and intellectual stimulation, for example (sorry if too graphic lol). I mean, consider romance novels ... soap operas. Those are arguably on a "pleasure" sliding scale. Those who are aroused by fear, another example.

I think we already live in a world where people's pleasure knobs are turned up in diverse ways, drowning out other areas ... beyond sexual and sensual arousal obviously. This would include acting on beliefs, etc.

 

[Received]

People would have less sex, would eat less and watch less TV, and instead would think deeply more.


People would do more of the former and less of the latter.


I don´t understand the difference between 2 and 3.


That´s a very general question. I don´t know. What changes/differences are you thinking of, specifically - beyond the obvious?

Here´s another one: What if the pleasure knob for chopping of your right leg would be turned up, and the pleasure knob for acting upon other persons´ beliefs would be turned down?

You're boring.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Here's the thought: what would the world look like if the "pleasure knob" that's received from doing "sensual" things like having sex, eating too much, and watching TV was turned down for everyone, and the pleasure knob for thinking deeply were turned up?

We get Vulcans (apart from pon farr.)

imagine if the pleasure knob were turned up for acting out your beliefs (i.e., people got a much more significant dopamine kick from acting according to their beliefs) and the sensual things and thinking knobs were turned down. What would happen?

My lack-of-god! Internet flame wars would get EVEN WORSE! And, you know, terrorism and stuff.

Or three: sensual things and thinking things were turned down but the pleasure knob for acting out of your beliefs were turned up?

Wait, isn't that the same as... Don't you mean if the pleasure knob was turned up? Bow chikka bow bow...

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I am not sure but we have evolved a "balance" maybe? Then again there will be a bell curve for each type of pleasure, with a normal distribution of sensuality etc across a certain range of high and low.


Some are "dumb sensualists" and some are "boring logicians".


Do I win the cookies or the newspaper? Hint, I dont really read the papers.

 

[quatona]

You're boring.

My pleasure.

 

[TillICollapse]

My pleasure.

Nice

 

[Received]

My pleasure.

You give a quality product. Can I sign up for a seminar?

 

[bhsmte]

There's a very memorable line (which, of course, I've forgotten verbatim) at the very beginning of Anna Karenina when one of the protagonists (Stepan) is noted to read the morning papers, not because he specifically because he liked the thinking and learning parts intrinsically, but because of the good feeling it gave him to think and learn in these ways.

That's not really thought about too much: the idea of people reading, and thinking, in order to feel good. I think it's clear, if you look closely, that so many academic types are kept in academia because the sense of pleasure and mastery of thinking and comprehending ideas brings pleasure. Like the pervy guy on The Big Lebowski says, "the brain is the biggest erogenous zone."

So we get pleasure -- a dopamine kick -- when we read, think, and obviously when we have sex, eat chocolate, and other things.

Here's the thought: what would the world look like if the "pleasure knob" that's received from doing "sensual" things like having sex, eating too much, and watching TV was turned down for everyone, and the pleasure knob for thinking deeply were turned up?

Another possibility: imagine if the pleasure knob were turned up for acting out your beliefs (i.e., people got a much more significant dopamine kick from acting according to their beliefs) and the sensual things and thinking knobs were turned down. What would happen?

Or three: sensual things and thinking things were turned down but the pleasure knob for acting out of your beliefs were turned up?

What would the world look like in each of these scenarios?

Well, on the turning the knob down on sex thing, if this would have happened a long time ago, good chance humans would have gone extinct.

On the other stuff, people in general would be more intellectual overall and likely pure emotion, would be less prominent in people's lives.

 

[Received]

How do we think this would influence more expansive things, like consumerism, how we treat one another, how we conduct politics (including who we elect to office), etc.

Right now, given how high the pleasure knob is turned up with sensationalism and feeling rather than thinking and acting, we know how all these things look like: we're whored out to consumerism, are perpetually distracted by social media and electonics, we treat each other superficially and typically prefer our own individualism over caring about bigger groups, and elect idiots to office to a large degree because of the values reflected in the stuff just said.

 

[quatona]

Right now, given how high the pleasure knob is turned up with sensationalism and feeling rather than thinking and acting, we know how all these things look like: we're whored out to consumerism, are perpetually distracted by social media and electonics, we treat each other superficially and typically prefer our own individualism over caring about bigger groups, and elect idiots to office to a large degree because of the values reflected in the stuff just said.

I strongly doubt the presumed causality between an emphasis on feeling and the phenomena you describe here. Come to think of it, I don´t even believe that the "pleasure knob is turned high up with feeling", to begin with.
Personally, I´d tend to work from the opposite hypothesis: all these phenomena are owed to a lack of feeling(s).

On another note: I am afraid that turning up the pleasure knob of acting upon one´s convictions would - given the fact that the world has become very small, but not less complex - lead to paralysis.