Emotions are intrinsically good and bad

[Edwardo Piet]

Some would say that pleasure without meaning is empty.  

In which case I say the pleasure isn't sufficient enough in itself to stop the suffering which is why we feel empty. We crave pleasure intense enough to help us cope with our suffering... and if we're suffering a large amount that craving is higher... and that's why we feel the emptiness. This would also explain why sometimes addiction can be both a cause and an effect of depression. The more we're suffering... the harder we try to fill the void with pleasure... which can lead to all kinds of addictions.

I don't think there is any meaning. Pleasure is as good as it gets. Even when we fall in love and feel that there is meaning... that feeling of being in love is just a bunch of brain chemistry that gives us a higher form of physical pleasure... but it's still just physical pleasure. And like all other physical pleasure... it's fleeting.

And studies have shown that serotonin, dopamine and neuroadrenaline isn't enough for happiness. I think that's because happiness is different to pleasure. I think what most people call 'happiness' is just a coping mechanism for dealing with suffering. It's a placebo.