4 ms·
Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that.
by koakuma-chan 1y ago
Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that.
- dpe82 1y agoThe widely held notion that happiness (or lack thereof) is simply the result of chemical (im)balances is one of the greatest PR victories of the pharmaceutical industry.
- CamperBob2 1y agoWhat else is there?
- mixedCase 1y agoHappiness chemicals are the end result, and end result we cannot cause directly, anyway. What leads you there, how the process involves your particular brain and environment, and how it acts as a feedback loop are a higher concern. Even if one day you could just squirt the cocktail directly into your receptors or otherwise trick them, there's more to happiness as a part of life than turning yourself into a vegetable, but I digress.
- koakuma-chan 1y agoDeath is the ultimate happiness because you get to be relieved from endless suffering that life is. Other than that, yep just take some drugs.
- inglor_cz 1y agoWell, people consume cocaine for a reason. But I understand your objection. It is a bit reductive to think like this.
- CodeMage 1y agoWould you say cocaine makes those people happy?
- inglor_cz 1y agoYes, at least some of them for some time. I remember an old addict speaking of cocaine as if it was his only true love. Waxed poetical about it, the way we remember our first kiss. Seems that at least some people are wired this way.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- lovich 1y agoHe’s a comedian so it might just be a bit but Bert Kreischners comments on alcohol fit that description https://youtu.be/MljeQzcmUfE https://youtu.be/MljeQzcmUfE
- koakuma-chan 1y agoDrugs 100% make people feel happy.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- lr4444lr 1y ago... until the CNS homeostasis stops responding to them, which is why they keep taking bigger hits. Something more complex is going on.
- chermi 1y agoComputers are just electrons moving. Biology is just phyics. See how little that explains? The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, even if it's still encoded in the parts.
- mym1990 1y agoI get the sentiment though. Happiness is a mix of the right hormones firing, so the question is: how does intelligence affect different types of hormones, if at all. Given how sensitive our hormones are, it would be difficult to control only for “intelligence”.
- anyfoo 1y agoBy that logic, "How does loved one dying affect different type of hormones, if at all. Given how sensitive our hormones are, it would be difficult to control only for 'loss of a loved one'". If you have depression or another condition affecting your affect and your emotions, sure. Otherwise it's pretty obvious to anyone that concepts on orders of magnitude higher levels than hormones being correlated with happiness, or if you prefer, those concepts having a significant effect on the overall action of those hormones.
- mym1990 1y agoLoss of a loved one is a very specific event, intelligence is a very broad idea that isn't even well defined. I have no idea what this means: "concepts on orders of magnitude higher levels than hormones". I guess your intelligence is just much higher than mine.
- koakuma-chan 1y agoExcept happiness is a well-known thing, and there are substances like alcohol, cocaine, etc, that are optimized for it.
- anyfoo 1y agoPutting aside that they are not optimized but just happen to have an effect, would you claim that these are the only things that affect happiness/its relevant chemicals?
- throw0101d 1y ago> Happiness is just chemicals, it has nothing to do with that. Your choices, (in)actions, and perceptions are things that can cause the release of said chemicals. Your intelligence, as well as abilities and habits, can effect how (or even whether you can) do or do not do things.
- mewpmewp2 1y agoBut then there's cases where an intelligent person can devise a perfect plan to reach happiness. Do the right habits, sleep, diet, exercise, relationships, therapy, medications, do everything according to science that should make us happy. But still never be "happy" or feel "satisfied".
- elevatortrim 1y agoIt has some because expectations and satisfaction of those alter hormones.
- pickledonions49 1y agochemicals are released by one part of the brain and interpreted by another. the parts of the brain that release those chemicals release it when that part of the brain is stimulated. this kind of mental stimulation can be heavily reliant on quality of life.
- anyfoo 1y agoTechnically correct, but if that's what you reduce it to, why did you bother to reply? You only changed some light patterns on a bunch of atoms.
- lr4444lr 1y agoAre you not aware that many psych drugs that modify brain chemistry fail to work for people? Even when they are tested to have adequate or high levels?
- koakuma-chan 1y agoSome people have two heads.
- lotsofpulp 1y agoHas anyone ever not responded to fentanyl?
- lambdanil 1y agofentanyl doesn't make you happy, heroin does :)
- lotsofpulp 1y agoInteresting, I would have thought they both had the same effects since they are both opioids.