The science of joy and happiness
September 7, 2015 at 11:30 am
(This post was last modified: September 7, 2015 at 12:02 pm by Detective L Ryuzaki.)
There are many philosophies out there on how to live a happy/joyful life. But these are nothing scientific. They know nothing about science and how the brain really works (what our mental experiences really are). As a matter of fact, these philosophies say that you can live a joyful, happy life and enjoy your life while in a depressed and/or anhedonic state. But that is just nonsense and I will tell you why.
The term "rewarding experience" is a scientific term. It is defined as being our pleasant feelings/emotions (good moods) from our reward system since our reward system is the only function of our brains that can give us a rewarding experience. If there is a scientific version of something, then a different version of it would have to be fake. For example, since we have the scientific terms sight, hearing, smell, and taste, then a philosophical/moral version of sight, hearing, smell, and taste would be fake and would not give us sight, hearing, smell, or taste.
What we have "over here" is the term "rewarding experience" which is a scientific term in the world of science. But what we have "over there" are the terms happiness, joy, pleasure, and enjoyment which are outside the realm of science and in the realm of morality/philosophy (the world of our own personal created meanings in life).
So what I am going to do now here is bring what is "over there" to "over here." We all know that joy, pleasure, and happiness are always rewarding mental experiences for us as human beings. They are always rewarding to us. If you had disrewarding pain and misery such as depression and you said that your family and goals/dreams still brought you joy and happiness, then you would be having a rewarding mental experience in despite of your disrewarding pain and misery.
But if you did not experience any pleasant feelings/emotions in despite of your depression, then it would be false of you to say that you are having joy and happiness despite your depression. So since joy and happiness are synonymous with the scientific term "rewarding experience," then joy and happiness are also scientific terms as well. They belong "over here" in the realm of science. Also, as a side note, my descriptions of "over here" and "over there" are merely descriptions to make my explanation more effective and convenient.
This also applies to love, inspiration, etc. which are also always and can only be rewarding mental experiences for us as human beings. They are also scientific terms which means the philosophical/moral version of those things are false. As a matter of fact, I think there is a scientific version of everything and that the world of morality/philosophy (the world of our own personal created meanings) is false.
There is a scientific version of a lion. If you personally define yourself as a lion, then that would be false. That would not make you a lion. There is a scientific version of the sun, there is a scientific version of helium, etc. If you personally define anything else in life as being the sun or helium, then that would be false as well. It would not make those things actual helium or the sun.
So with all of this being said, I think there is even a scientific version of good and bad. Since having good meaning in one's life is always a rewarding mental experience for us and can only be a rewarding mental experience to us, then good is also a scientific term as well. It would be a synonym for our pleasant feelings/emotions from our reward system. When, for example, your family has good meaning to you, then you are perceiving a rewarding experience towards them and towards helping them out. Even if you say that your life was nothing good and that helping them out is what matters, you are still perceiving good value and worth towards them and, thus, you are still perceiving a rewarding experience towards them.
If you had disrewarding pain and misery to win a game and earn a trophy, then the idea of the team, trophy, and the game would be rewarding to you despite your pain and misery. They would be a rewarding mental experience for you in despite of your pain and misery since they have good value and worth to you. Therefore, good also belongs in the realm of science as well. Bad also belongs in the realm of science. Bad would be a synonym for our unpleasant feelings/emotions from our limbic system.
The term "incentive" is also always and can only be a rewarding or a disrewarding experience for us as human beings. It can be disrewarding because you can have the incentive to run away from danger. It would be disrewarding since you would be experiencing an unpleasant feeling/emotion known as fear. Therefore, incentive is also a scientific term as well and our only incentive in life is either our pleasant feelings/emotions from our reward system or our unpleasant feelings/emotions from our limbic system.
The term "rewarding experience" is a scientific term. It is defined as being our pleasant feelings/emotions (good moods) from our reward system since our reward system is the only function of our brains that can give us a rewarding experience. If there is a scientific version of something, then a different version of it would have to be fake. For example, since we have the scientific terms sight, hearing, smell, and taste, then a philosophical/moral version of sight, hearing, smell, and taste would be fake and would not give us sight, hearing, smell, or taste.
What we have "over here" is the term "rewarding experience" which is a scientific term in the world of science. But what we have "over there" are the terms happiness, joy, pleasure, and enjoyment which are outside the realm of science and in the realm of morality/philosophy (the world of our own personal created meanings in life).
So what I am going to do now here is bring what is "over there" to "over here." We all know that joy, pleasure, and happiness are always rewarding mental experiences for us as human beings. They are always rewarding to us. If you had disrewarding pain and misery such as depression and you said that your family and goals/dreams still brought you joy and happiness, then you would be having a rewarding mental experience in despite of your disrewarding pain and misery.
But if you did not experience any pleasant feelings/emotions in despite of your depression, then it would be false of you to say that you are having joy and happiness despite your depression. So since joy and happiness are synonymous with the scientific term "rewarding experience," then joy and happiness are also scientific terms as well. They belong "over here" in the realm of science. Also, as a side note, my descriptions of "over here" and "over there" are merely descriptions to make my explanation more effective and convenient.
This also applies to love, inspiration, etc. which are also always and can only be rewarding mental experiences for us as human beings. They are also scientific terms which means the philosophical/moral version of those things are false. As a matter of fact, I think there is a scientific version of everything and that the world of morality/philosophy (the world of our own personal created meanings) is false.
There is a scientific version of a lion. If you personally define yourself as a lion, then that would be false. That would not make you a lion. There is a scientific version of the sun, there is a scientific version of helium, etc. If you personally define anything else in life as being the sun or helium, then that would be false as well. It would not make those things actual helium or the sun.
So with all of this being said, I think there is even a scientific version of good and bad. Since having good meaning in one's life is always a rewarding mental experience for us and can only be a rewarding mental experience to us, then good is also a scientific term as well. It would be a synonym for our pleasant feelings/emotions from our reward system. When, for example, your family has good meaning to you, then you are perceiving a rewarding experience towards them and towards helping them out. Even if you say that your life was nothing good and that helping them out is what matters, you are still perceiving good value and worth towards them and, thus, you are still perceiving a rewarding experience towards them.
If you had disrewarding pain and misery to win a game and earn a trophy, then the idea of the team, trophy, and the game would be rewarding to you despite your pain and misery. They would be a rewarding mental experience for you in despite of your pain and misery since they have good value and worth to you. Therefore, good also belongs in the realm of science as well. Bad also belongs in the realm of science. Bad would be a synonym for our unpleasant feelings/emotions from our limbic system.
The term "incentive" is also always and can only be a rewarding or a disrewarding experience for us as human beings. It can be disrewarding because you can have the incentive to run away from danger. It would be disrewarding since you would be experiencing an unpleasant feeling/emotion known as fear. Therefore, incentive is also a scientific term as well and our only incentive in life is either our pleasant feelings/emotions from our reward system or our unpleasant feelings/emotions from our limbic system.
