The Pursuit Of Pain And Pleasure

While science and technology appear to have advanced greatly since millennia past, the cognitions of humans seem to have strayed little from that of their ancestors. Arguably humans are still little more than animals, or perhaps at most poorly calibrated automatons programmed for the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain.

Take the average person and put him in a room with numerous other individuals. Ensure that one exit remains, then light a fire that spreads rapidly through the room. Predictably, all the individuals will move as one, pressing urgently against one another in an effort to get out as quickly as possible. Despite the efforts to train humans in the procedures of fire evacuations, it seems inevitable that their animal instincts for the avoidance of pain will take over, and the incredible agony from the sheer heat will drive the conditioning right out of their heads.

The pursuit of pleasure is yet another problem. Where no pain is involved, the presence and absence of pleasure will suffice as a motivator. An example is the liking for potato chips despite the associated health and weight problems. The quest for survival here does not seem to apply, since even data indicating the harmfulness of such things merely sinks in at a conscious level but is quickly laid aside in the face of immediate gratification. Admittedly, I am not immune to such lures.

What would be most interesting is evolving the psyche to enhance the ability to suppress such non-constructive drives in order to channel that energy and attention towards something better.