Most people I know believe that heroin (and similar mechanisms) get short-term happiness followed either by long-term unhappiness, or death.
That’s the long and short of it, I think. There is no reason not to use heroin to obtain maximum utility (for one’s self), if one a.) finds it pleasurable, b.) can afford it, and c.) is able to obtain pure and measured doses. (Or simply uses pharmaceuticals.) The perceived danger of heroin comes from its price and illegality (uncertain dosage + potentially dangerous impurities), which often results in penury, and overdose or illness, for the user.
People also want “real” happiness, by which I presume they mean happiness resulting from actions like painting a picture, and not happiness induced by chemical… which is silly, since the two feelings are produced by the same neurochemistry and functionally identical (i.e., all happiness is ultimately chemical). (The perceived difference may still bother someone enough that they choose a different route, though, especially if they don’t realize they can just paint a picture… on heroin.)
Well, you’re leaving out any discussion of goals I might have other than pleasure, and how well heroin helps me achieve those goals. One difference between heroin use and painting a picture is that the latter case causes there to be a picture, for example, and I might value the existence of the picture in addition to valuing my neurochemical state.
But, sure, if I can do all the same stuff in the world as well or better while maintaining a heroin habit, then that’s not relevant.
I was hoping someone would bring that up. You’ve already given the same answer I would, though: it’s not necessarily an either/or scenario like Nozick’s “experience machine” concept, so it’s possible to have both heroin and pictures, in theory.
That’s the long and short of it, I think. There is no reason not to use heroin to obtain maximum utility (for one’s self), if one a.) finds it pleasurable, b.) can afford it, and c.) is able to obtain pure and measured doses. (Or simply uses pharmaceuticals.) The perceived danger of heroin comes from its price and illegality (uncertain dosage + potentially dangerous impurities), which often results in penury, and overdose or illness, for the user.
People also want “real” happiness, by which I presume they mean happiness resulting from actions like painting a picture, and not happiness induced by chemical… which is silly, since the two feelings are produced by the same neurochemistry and functionally identical (i.e., all happiness is ultimately chemical). (The perceived difference may still bother someone enough that they choose a different route, though, especially if they don’t realize they can just paint a picture… on heroin.)
Well, you’re leaving out any discussion of goals I might have other than pleasure, and how well heroin helps me achieve those goals. One difference between heroin use and painting a picture is that the latter case causes there to be a picture, for example, and I might value the existence of the picture in addition to valuing my neurochemical state.
But, sure, if I can do all the same stuff in the world as well or better while maintaining a heroin habit, then that’s not relevant.
I was hoping someone would bring that up. You’ve already given the same answer I would, though: it’s not necessarily an either/or scenario like Nozick’s “experience machine” concept, so it’s possible to have both heroin and pictures, in theory.
Are pure and measured doses safe? What about the adverse consequences of addiction?