Because I wouldn't know what it would mean for a situation to be good or desirable except in relation to pleasure/pain. It seems to be a contradiction in terms.
I don't believe you. I believe that if caught unawares (without the time to rationalise) you will rapidly and intuitively make value judgements about things and convey them both via word and deed. For example you will not act as if you are perfectly OK for billions of (relative) innocents to be slaughtered so long as you are wired to feel pleasure regardless of that occurrence. You may be able to verbally declare that kind of value if the situation is contrived enough for you to be thrown into 'far-mode' (abstract philosophical thinking) and can reframe everything into idealised hedonistic terms but if the scenario were more subtle and presented in a non-philosophical context you would act more like an actual human being.
No insult intended. My skepticism means "I don't believe you are as insane as you claim you are."
You may be able to verbally declare that kind of value if the situation is contrived enough for you to be thrown into 'far-mode' (abstract philosophical thinking) and can reframe everything into idealised hedonistic terms but if the scenario were more subtle and presented in a non-philosophical context you would act more like an actual human being.
You've set this up for me to be impossible to refute, because no matter what I say, you can just say, "You're verbalizing in far mode, so I don't believe you". FWIW, if there were a being to be wired in such a way, that being would have no reason to care about the slaughter of innocents.
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one.
3. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.
4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.