RE: Hedonism
February 14, 2013 at 8:29 am
(This post was last modified: February 14, 2013 at 8:37 am by mralstoner.)
Actually we are all hedonists (for want of a better word), including religious people. All people act in pursuit of emotional rewards. That's psychology 101.
Atheists/humanists seek their rewards here on earth.
Christians seek their rewards in the afterlife, or in community with god and fellow believers, or with the holy spirit, or they enjoy the certitude of a simple and stable moral culture, or they think Christian culture is good for a happy family and community life, etc.
Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio showed that humans cannot act without emotional stimulus. We become chronic procrastinators, or vegetables.
So the question is not whether we are hedonists/emotivists but, rather, what things we take pleasure in. Atheism v. religion, impulsive v. balanced, liberal v. conservative, strawberry v. chocolate, traditional v. progressive, etc. These are all emotional preferences when you boil it down (apart from the belief aspect of religion).
Atheists/humanists seek their rewards here on earth.
Christians seek their rewards in the afterlife, or in community with god and fellow believers, or with the holy spirit, or they enjoy the certitude of a simple and stable moral culture, or they think Christian culture is good for a happy family and community life, etc.
Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio showed that humans cannot act without emotional stimulus. We become chronic procrastinators, or vegetables.
So the question is not whether we are hedonists/emotivists but, rather, what things we take pleasure in. Atheism v. religion, impulsive v. balanced, liberal v. conservative, strawberry v. chocolate, traditional v. progressive, etc. These are all emotional preferences when you boil it down (apart from the belief aspect of religion).
