RE: Do atheists believe in the existence of friendship?
May 18, 2023 at 9:22 pm
(This post was last modified: May 18, 2023 at 9:24 pm by Simon Moon.)
(May 17, 2023 at 6:09 pm)KerimF Wrote:(May 17, 2023 at 4:24 pm)Simon Moon Wrote: Friendship is the name we put on a series of behaviors and feelings demonstrated by humans toward each. And lack of other behaviors that one associates with not being friends.
Of course friendship exists, because we can see people demonstrating those behaviors toward each other.
If two people are standing before me, and they are demonstrating most or all of the behaviors we associate with friendship, are avoiding the behaviors we associate with not being friends, that is pretty good evidence that they are friends.
For example, if I see them help each other out, go to movies or concerts together, wish each other the best in life, become sad for each other if they are going through tough times, compliment each other, if one chooses the other to be her bridesmaid or best man at their wedding, etc, etc, etc, since that all is part of some of the collected behaviors we associate with friendship, as a third person observing them, I can be pretty sure they are friends.
Could I be wrong? Sure.
But the evidence is pretty compelling they are friends.
And yes, love, friendship, empathy, sympathy, dislike, etc, are all a result of brain function, and brain chemicals.
All you said about friendship is indeed true (and interesting). But I am afraid you missed the most important thing which, if accepted by both sides, their friendship becomes perfect. This thing has nothing to do with chemicals or feelings though almost all people look for it.
In fact, as we will see, the answer is known already by almost everyone here, for being obvious. So, I am surprised how no one mentioned it yet!
So, you think just because I didn't mention the word 'trust', I don't think it is part of a good friendship?
Just because I failed to mention it, does not mean it is not part of a good friendship. You did notice the part of my post where I said, "etc, etc, etc", right? Thinking of every possible sign of friendship between 2 people, while I was at work, was not on the top of my mind when I posted yesterday.
How did you come to the conclusion that trust is not a product of brain chemicals?
Please google, "the brain chemistry of trust, or the neuroscience of trust:, or similar phrasing. There are plenty of scientific articles about this very subject.
But specifically, it is dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin (mostly oxytocin) responsible for trust.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
