05 Mar 10
I mean, the easy answer is: to get thrills which snap them out
of the rat race, i.e. which make life less common.
However, isn't it also a way of becoming numb? In a way, if
you get quick chills & thrills from extreme activities you are
obfuscating in a way other aspects of life which may need
attention or which are simply humiliating or painful.
And I mean all kind of extreme stuff.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by SeitseYou're presuming that the fix is as quick and cheap as the event.
I mean, the easy answer is: to get thrills which snap them out
of the rat race, i.e. which make life less common.
However, isn't it also a way of becoming numb? In a way, if
you get quick chills & thrills from extreme activities you are
obfuscating in a way other aspects of life which may need
attention or which are simply humiliating or painful.
And I mean all kind of extreme stuff.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by SeitseSimple executive summary 'one word' answer, Sir Seitse, (imho) is 'stimulation' (to fill the deep seated
I mean, the easy answer is: to get thrills which snap them out
of the rat race, i.e. which make life less common.
However, isn't it also a way of becoming numb? In a way, if
you get quick chills & thrills from extreme activities you are
obfuscating in a way other aspects of life which may need
attention or which are simply humiliating or painful.
And I mean all kind of extreme stuff.
vacuum/void of tranquility, contentment, genuine happiness. Short/long term 'numbing' impact for sure.
.............................
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by SeitseOr a psychological need which requires constant interaction. Lifestyle choices like hardcore BDSM may seem to have a short climax but they deeply inform the person on a regular basis.
Good point.
It may be a very elaborated event which provides a sustained fix.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by StarrmanHardcore BDSM-er's have feelings, too. They're simply trying to annihilate them.
Or a psychological need which requires constant interaction. Lifestyle choices like hardcore BDSM may seem to have a short climax but they deeply inform the person on a regular basis.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyIn your opinion, is there a proper way to experience tranquility, contentment, or genuine happiness?
to fill the deep seated vacuum/void of tranquility, contentment, genuine happiness.
Ex: Joe Schmo is most happy/content when he sits on a computer and writes in online forums. In fact, he's absolutely passionate about it. He wakes up thinking about the forums and he goes to sleep with threads dancing in his head.
Q: Why does he do this?
A: Because he is filling a void. Writing in online forums makes him very, very happy. And when it's not part of his daily routine there is a void.
(Hint: You can give this answer to any question asked about why someone does something that makes them happy.)
Doesn't anyone doing something that makes them passionately happy do so because without doing that particular thing then there would be a void of happiness proportional to the amount of happiness it gives you?
We all do many different things that makes us happy. Some things makes us happier than others - whether it's teaching, painting, playing chess, raising children, or jumping out of airplanes - and these things would create voids in our lives if we were unable to do them anymore.
Some of us even gain happiness by projecting our own values onto others with suggestions like they do this particular thing that makes them happy because there must be something deficient about their perspective on life - because my view of the world is pretty close to correct. It makes us feel good when we do that. We are happier when we feel superior and more informed - and that's why we keeping doing it over and over and over and over.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by SeitseThe point I was trying to make is that people have desires to do those things, it makes them happy - however "unusual" it might be from the perspective of "normal" people. We all have different things that make us happy - I really think it's a simply as that.
Take it easy, guys, my question was more directed at stuff like
voluntarily experiencing lots of pain or a splash of adrenaline.
Maybe someone with a science background can get in here and explain it from a biological perspective and how synapses fire and make our minds "enjoy" certain things - whether it's from eating a slice of pizza or wrestling an alligator with your hands tied behind your back.
05 Mar 10
Originally posted by Traveling AgainI was thinking more about this plus a purely speculative philosophical
and explain it from a biological perspective and how synapses fire and make our minds "enjoy" certain things
perspective, because like it or not eating pizza is far from fighting
alligators in the scale of the sense of self preservation.