“Our societies today are characterized by a universal algophobia: a generalized fear of pain. “ - I recommend the short book The Palliative Society: Pain Today by philosopher Byung-Chul Han that expands in unison on your thoughts above
I think that doomscrolling taps into repetitive behavior tracts that existed long before we were fully human. Most mammals are prone to these types of behavior, they simply don't have devices perfected to the point of addiction. The psychological distaste for doomscrolling is itself an aspect of boredom. To not be constrained in the psyche requires the discipline to reject repetition. I don't want to be caught by the algorithm, but in the modern age it's always there, chasing you.
This reminds me of The Disappearance of Ritual by Byung-Chul Han where he talks about all of modern life as consumption. All posts are now relegated to being consumed and used only for that brief hit of dopamine.
I quite enjoyed this article. Among other things, it reminded me that I really need to engage more with the work of Junger. Every time I'm exposed to his thought I feel I would enjoy his works immensely.
The point about pleasure being highest in the anticipatory phase is an important one. The modern conception as pleasure as a desirable goal in-and-of itself has rubber me the wrong way for years. Even in an earlier life when I embraced various forms of utilitarianism, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something incoherent with viewing the acquisition of pleasure as the summit of moral or personal achievement. For me, the dam finally broke when I considered what the role of pleasure is from an evolutionary standpoint. As evolved beings, we cannot ignore the fact that our faculties came into being in a specific environment and for a specific purpose. Pleasure did not evolve as an end state, but as a vector. An arrow. Not as something to be desired for itself, but a tool to direct us towards things which are desirable.
With that came the realization that, like any mental or physical ability, pleasure could with effort and disciplined be trained. We can learn to direct it towards either worthy or unworthy ends, based on how we choose to use it.
“Our societies today are characterized by a universal algophobia: a generalized fear of pain. “ - I recommend the short book The Palliative Society: Pain Today by philosopher Byung-Chul Han that expands in unison on your thoughts above
Love that book
I think that doomscrolling taps into repetitive behavior tracts that existed long before we were fully human. Most mammals are prone to these types of behavior, they simply don't have devices perfected to the point of addiction. The psychological distaste for doomscrolling is itself an aspect of boredom. To not be constrained in the psyche requires the discipline to reject repetition. I don't want to be caught by the algorithm, but in the modern age it's always there, chasing you.
This reminds me of The Disappearance of Ritual by Byung-Chul Han where he talks about all of modern life as consumption. All posts are now relegated to being consumed and used only for that brief hit of dopamine.
I quite enjoyed this article. Among other things, it reminded me that I really need to engage more with the work of Junger. Every time I'm exposed to his thought I feel I would enjoy his works immensely.
The point about pleasure being highest in the anticipatory phase is an important one. The modern conception as pleasure as a desirable goal in-and-of itself has rubber me the wrong way for years. Even in an earlier life when I embraced various forms of utilitarianism, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something incoherent with viewing the acquisition of pleasure as the summit of moral or personal achievement. For me, the dam finally broke when I considered what the role of pleasure is from an evolutionary standpoint. As evolved beings, we cannot ignore the fact that our faculties came into being in a specific environment and for a specific purpose. Pleasure did not evolve as an end state, but as a vector. An arrow. Not as something to be desired for itself, but a tool to direct us towards things which are desirable.
With that came the realization that, like any mental or physical ability, pleasure could with effort and disciplined be trained. We can learn to direct it towards either worthy or unworthy ends, based on how we choose to use it.