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Those qualities are measured relative to us, present humans. He's saying the Ems will be much smarter, beautiful, and charismatic, compared to humans in 2016.

Those qualities are measured relative to us, present humans. He's saying the Ems will be much smarter, beautiful, and charismatic, compared to humans in 2016. >wouldn't the slightest dip or peak in subjective well-being feel like a life-altering crisis? Well that's much more debatable. I think to some degree suffering and pleasure are on an objective scale. Maybe it has to do with how much dopamine or pain nerves are triggered, probably it's much more complicated than that. Certainly I would give a lot to live in a world where there was no risk of getting some illness or accident that could cause intense pain or suffering, yet otherwise everything else was exactly the same. Wouldn't you?

reflexive 10y ago
> I would give a lot to live in a world where there was no risk of getting some illness or accident that could cause intense pain or suffering, yet otherwise everything else was exactly the same. Wouldn't you? Not really. I would argue that life is suffering, or at least entails suffering. Without physical suffering, you would suffer psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually - perhaps to a far greater degree. I strongly suspect that the confusion and malaise which afflicts modern man, compared to his tribal ancestors, is correlated with a reduction in physical hardship. So no - while removing a specific source of physical suffering may sometimes be prudent, in general I would not sacrifice anything I truly value in a vain attempt to avoid suffering in general.