X-Message-Number: 30148
From: 
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:36:58 EST
Subject: feel-good

A little expansion of the previous:
 
In Youniverse I named the goal of existence as "feel-good" over  time, 

related to what Bernoulli called "utility." This has obvious problems,  
including 
how to find the categories and hierarchies of feel-good or  utility. (Clearly 
some kinds of feel-good or anticipated feel-good are  inconsistent with other 
kinds.) There are also unsolved philosophical problems  including criteria of 

survival, although I have offered a tentative answer. Even  so, use of the term
feel-good has, I believe, the very great merit of putting  the focus where it 
belongs, on the benefit of the individual. For many people,  the asserted 
welfare of "others" or of society has been given undue emphasis. 
 
(Remember Auden? "We are all here to help others. What I can't figure out  
is, what are the others here for?")
 
Our state of ignorance guarantees that there will be many surprises  

upcoming. We know nothing for certain except our own immediate feelings, and  
those 
can be tricky too. The main point is that, for some people, some of the  time, 
it is possible to reexamine your beliefs and habits and make  changes--not too 
large or too sudden--in your outlook and plans. 
 
Robert Ettinger



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