Philosophy Wire: Calculating probabilities… Calculating pain…

A Dartmouth study on how we use reward information for making choices shows how humans and monkeys adopt their decision-making strategies depending on the uncertainty of information present. The results of this study illustrated that for a simple gamble to obtain a reward, when the magnitude or amount of the reward is known but the probability of the reward is unknown and must be learned, both species will switch their strategy from combining reward information in a multiplicative way (in which functions of reward probability and magnitude are multiplied to obtain the so-called subjective value) to comparing the attributes in an additive way to make a decision. [1] Rewards. Incentives. Probabilities. So unethical we have become. That we calculate everything. That we dream of benefits and outcomes. But nothing worth having is related to pleasure. For pleasure makes us attach to here and now. But ethics is transcendental. Don’t get me wrong. Ethics is indeed related to pleasure. But not in the way our coward soul thinks it does. Look at the benefits. Look at pleasure. Find where eudaimonia is. And turn around. And seek pain! Feel your self! Everything going black. Everything turning into light…

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Philosophy Wire: Pleasure… Music… Life…

Researchers found that the expectation of good (pleasurable) music can generate a sense of reward in the brain, in the same way as money or food can. This positive feedback can also elicit learning; those who experience more pleasure from music learn more easily which action leads to more aesthetically pleasing music. [1] All our conclusions are based on assumptions. We assume that knowledge is good. We assume that understanding is something positive. We assume that pleasure is something we should seek. Than pain should be avoided. But life screams every day the opposite: There is no point in learning. There is nothing to understand. There is no pleasure, just plain pain. Just listen to the music. You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain…

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Philosophy Wire: Taking photos. Living. (based on science, based on stupidity)

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-11-18]: While you might think photo-taking would detract from the enjoyment of everyday activities, research suggests that people who take photos of their experiences usually enjoy the events more than people who don't. [1] We enjoy what we think we enjoy. And then we produce research which “proves” that. Because we are too cowards to simply say that we like what we like. We must “prove” it as well. We live and we are already dead. Take a selfie. Wow! Nice! I like it! No no, not me. The research says so.

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