A human emotion for which there are no pills?

That’s not how psychoactive medicine works.

Schadenfreude – enjoyment at the suffering of others.

Mostly because it’s such a specific concept.

And if there is such a drug, sign me up!

Stubborness!! Only a taser can take care of that one!

@Cruiser You worry me with your obsession with tasers.

@Cruiser Isn’t that what roofies are for?

<——This one

@SeventhSense Absolutely…

@Cruiser-I’ve heard that has no effect.lol

I kind of feel a little unease with the taser for stubbornness also. Sounds a little too much like the persuader billy club and we know how indiscriminate they’ve been.

For erections lasting longer than 4 hours, please call my friend Susan.

She made me say that

Well helooo Susan..

I reject the premise. Emotions are based on chemicals in the brain. That doesn’t make them inauthentic. You’ll have to get used to the idea that we are not as free willed as you might think. Our very thoughts are determined by chemicals. Change the chemistry, and you can no longer think what you thought before.

Perhaps you are privileging the “natural” state over the human managed state. Not quite sure how that argument goes. We seek to manipulate our own states and our own thoughts and the thoughts of others all the time. How is pharmaceutical intervention in the chemistry of our thinking and different from using brain techniques to intervene?

Nope. If you are depressed, and suicidal, then it can be an extreme relief to find a drug or combination of drugs that keep you from killing yourself and that allow you to even consider the possibility that happiness could be achieved. If you are manic, and about to sell your 100,000 house for five thousand dollars, you may well be happy that Lithium can even that out.

Is your desire to destroy your most important belonging authentic, whereas your happiness is not? Is your desire to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge authentic while your alleviated depression is not?

I think this question shows no appreciation of authenticity whatsoever. This is a complicated topic and denying that complexity does us no service at all. Here. Have a demerol.

you cant bottle compassion.

@oreo45 Do you have evidence to support that, or are you just saying something that sounds good?

@wundayatta
For every true state there is a manufactured one. Authentic emotion is far more than chemical as much as chemicals can be manipulated to recreate a desired state. It has to do with an entire hosts of processes that may induce a mental state but their origin is through self directed means that have as an end result certain emotions. Actions as well as thoughts create emotions.

@chyna <<Bzzzzt>>
@tentaclepuppy Yes but that is cheating in my book! Gotta take on that stubborn bull head on drug free for the big thrills.
@lucillelucillelucille I’ve got the burn marks to prove you are correct!! ;)

@Cruiser,-Yes I am….you are improving! :)

Happiness

That’s what all the pills are trying to help you attain.

If you are happy you are already there and ned no pills..unless someone knows of a pill designed to prevent happiness.

@SeventhSense If I choose to take a pill, is that not self-directed means of producing a mental state?

Are my feelings inauthentic because I take pills every day? The normal mortality rate for people with bipolar disorder is 20% (death by own hand). I am happy to reduce that rate for myself, and I have a hard time believing my emotions are not authentic. But if you say so…

What about empathy?

@wundayatta
Yes inasmuch as you’ve made a decision it self directed but it’s a more chemical state which regulates a mental process. Exercising to train the body is a self directed mental state first and then an improved state of physical condition which as a byproduct releases endorphins.

So, @SeventhSense this seems to mean that I have no authentic emotions any more.

If you say so.

I don’t take any pills to “force” emotions. Mine are the real thing.

love

Several philosophers think that there are basic emotions and more complex ones and the kind that many are suggesting here in answer to the question are unequivocally the more complex emotions or rather what might call moods (happiness) attitudes (empathy – compassion). Jealousy, envy and fear cause problems for philosophy and I would assume that this might be the case here also…However, I don’t know how these pills work…and I suspect that they all work in different ways so…I imagine that like @wundayatta says it’s extremely complex.

There is also the problem for me about the very fact that emotions generally arise from some eliciting event, either over a long period or short period of time. One must question how ‘real’ an emotional reaction can possibly be when elicited by a pill…and this of course is where the question arises as to what exactly is the emotion? Is the emotion centred around the feeling or more on the cognitive experience…or is it perceptual? And does it even matter what elicits the emotion? If an emotion is merely chemical then sure I’m sure we could somehow create any emotion through the use of pills, but I very much doubt that the experience would be an authentic one.

How would one go about creating ‘love’ for example?... and again this is controversial because many do not class love as an emotion at all. Even thinking about a more basic emotion of say, anger… one must consider that a lot of these pills generate a general heightening of the emotion (so I believe) rather than causing a body to react given a certain stimuli….(I would imagine that that would be in the realms of AI) this would suggest to me that in fact they aren’t real reactions at all…but perhaps that’s an entirely different question.

I’ve experienced various emotions on and off pills and I would certainly say that the experience of happiness and sadness/ joy and despair are rather more numb and superficial on pills, which suggests to me that they are not in fact the real deal!

@wundayatta If you could buy it, there wouldent be so much hate in the world.

@oreo45 I think you are confused about the difference between emotions and thoughts and actions. Sadness can be regulated to some degree. Hate? Never heard of anyone who thought that was something to be worked on. Anxiety, sure. Irritability, sure.

What’s more real? Me thinking that I’m worthless and talentless—or me thinking I have some competency? I’ve felt both in the last few years. Mostly the former. Since I felt worthless while not medicated, surely that is the more authentic and real feeling.

No. I think people who believe that have no idea what they’re talking about. None.