But the individuals don’t consider themselves happier without their constant usage. It’s just that happiness isn’t these individuals’ supreme value, the same way it seems to be for the SuperHappies.
Consider a human mother who was told that she could take a pill and live in perfect happiness ever after, but her children would have to die for it. If she loves her children, she won’t take the pill; it doesn’t matter that she knows she would be happy with the pill, it’s just that her children’s well-being is more important to her than her own future happiness.
Oh, I see. I’ve been confusing happiness as a state of present bliss with happiness as a positive feeling regarding a situation, which are not quite the same thing. Excellent reply, thank you.
Alternately, imagine the pill would alter the structure of her mind so that she would become the sort of being that would be happy about her children dying?
So even in the case where it relates to situations, one might reject such a pill.
But the individuals don’t consider themselves happier without their constant usage. It’s just that happiness isn’t these individuals’ supreme value, the same way it seems to be for the SuperHappies.
Consider a human mother who was told that she could take a pill and live in perfect happiness ever after, but her children would have to die for it. If she loves her children, she won’t take the pill; it doesn’t matter that she knows she would be happy with the pill, it’s just that her children’s well-being is more important to her than her own future happiness.
Oh, I see. I’ve been confusing happiness as a state of present bliss with happiness as a positive feeling regarding a situation, which are not quite the same thing. Excellent reply, thank you.
Alternately, imagine the pill would alter the structure of her mind so that she would become the sort of being that would be happy about her children dying?
So even in the case where it relates to situations, one might reject such a pill.