Ask an atheist a few questions.

[BlaineTog]

So, that all being said, let’s try and answer that question that you brought up. Why should people pursue happiness? My answer: I don’t know. My logical brain can’t give an answer for that.

The funny thing is, you don’t necessarily need an answer to the question. I brought of Sartre, and as you probably know, he embraces the fact that there’s no good reason to want happiness, but that the simple fact of it is that you do want happiness.

Of course, let’s not oversimplify. Happiness isn’t the only urge. Power can trump happiness a lot of the time, and there are destructive urges to be unhappy too. I don’t know where I’m going with this, really. I guess it has to do with the contingency of the law: the reason we want to be able to say “should want” is because then we can get everyone on the same page. Everyone wants happiness, but if someone who wants power more than happiness enters the room, everyone else is pretty much screwed if we present a happiness-contingent system of rules (which ideally amounts to a manual for happiness, really).

Maybe that’s why we want something to demand that we all want the same thing: if we don’t, then we’ll have no problem messing each other up.

 

[Exalt]

The funny thing is, you don’t necessarily need an answer to the question. I brought of Sartre, and as you probably know, he embraces the fact that there’s no good reason to want happiness, but that the simple fact of it is that you do want happiness.

You’re right. But, for me, it’s an interesting question. I’m actually in my last year of college right now and decided to add a minor in pyschology last spring. So I’ve taken a magnifying glass to that issue in particular over the past year. It’s been a very interesting question.

Of course, let’s not oversimplify. Happiness isn’t the only urge. Power can trump happiness a lot of the time, and there are destructive urges to be unhappy too. I don’t know where I’m going with this, really. I guess it has to do with the contingency of the law: the reason we want to be able to say “should want” is because then we can get everyone on the same page. Everyone wants happiness, but if someone who wants power more than happiness enters the room, everyone else is pretty much screwed if we present a happiness-contingent system of rules (which ideally amounts to a manual for happiness, really).

You’re asbolutely right. There are a hundred different urges. Some destructive, some helpful - and I bet they all have a rational biological explaination (destructive, violent urges help fight off predators as well as chase prey; helpful urges help raise families and grow as a society, etc). I think some of those urges aren’t proportional to the society we’re currently living in; particularly the war-urge. Ugh. Hopefully we’ll evolve beyond that urge someday.