Hedonism and Utopia

What is utopia? Not the fake ones in stories like Brave New World, but one that you personally want to live in. Here's what I imagine (somewhat in line with David Pearce's neo-hedonism and Yudkowsky's Fun Theory):

It's a typical day; you're walking down the street. You feel happy, safe, comfortable, free. You're going to meet someone to start a new and interesting project together. The weather is beautiful, and you walk a little bit faster because you feel empowered, like there's nothing you can't do. Yes. Suddenly you hear someone whistling, and you recognize that it is your favorite song. You feel an instant connection to that person, and your day just got a hundred times better.

Let's savor that for a moment before I start breaking down the different components.

Typical day: It's not a good life if we are miserable 364 days a year, and then have 24 hours of ecstasy. I'm not saying we should be happy all the time, but the typical, normal mode of being should feel good.

Walking, happy, safe, comfortable, free: These are the basics. Physically fit and mobile. Not depressed. Not anxious, threatened, or feel danger. Not in physical pain. Not oppressed or coerced to do things we don't want to do. You'd be surprised how many so-called utopia fail one or more of these. Except for the "free" part, all these needs can be reinforced medically. 

Rob mentioned that as he gets older, the looming mortality starts to cause more anxiety; so yes, death is a threat to any utopia.

Meet someone: We should have support and feedback from friends, colleagues, loved ones; we are social creatures. More than emotional support, we need someone who can understand us and understand what we care about. There are drugs that help social anxiety disorders.

New and interesting project: We need goals, something to get us out of bed in the morning, something to look forward to. It doesn't have to involve making anything; learning a new skill or going to see a concert or beating a game can easily suffice. There are drugs that can raise the level of focus and motivation. Yudkowsky proposed that the tasks and goals need to be complex to be fun. I won't make that restriction though; some people find a lot of pleasure in repetitive tasks.

Empowered: It is important to feel in control of one's life, and beyond that, to make a difference in the world, to contribute and leave a mark. Motivation and empowerment are closely related to the dopamine pathways in the brain; cocaine and meth both stimulate these circuits, as do some ADHD medication.

Weather, whistling, favorite song: Whatever stimulates our senses should feel better, shinier, more enjoyable, or different in an interesting way. Those who had taken Ecstasy (MDMA) or LSD can testify. There's a connection here to art and creativity as well.

Instant connection: Empathy (and emotional connections in general) should be required for any utopia; we definitely don't want a society full of psychopaths. Greater empathy leads to better relationships and may even cure that modern plague of loneliness and alienation. Watch the movie Equilibrium for an example of a future without empathy.

So how is this transhumanism? I feel that one of the weaknesses of a progressive transhumanist stance is the lack of qualitative goals. Sure, it would be easy to point at progress made in life-extension, or intelligence augmentation, or cybernetics. But what would you say if someone asks that dreaded question: "how would that make our lives better?" or simply "Why?"  How can you even answer that without knowing what a "better life" involves? Let's figure this out!

Some drink to remember, some to forget

Looks like I can't be too dismissive of the subtleties of drugs. According to this article, alcohol helps us focus our attention on what's in front of us. It lets us sink into anguish when drinking alone; it lets us indulge in the pleasure of company. It frees us from distractions like our insecurities, inhibitions, indecisiveness, and the whole litter of personal demons that nag at a sober mind. I think Homer Simpson said it best: "To alcohol: the cause of and solution to all of life's problems."

Let's generalize what we want from drugs, because that will help us look past chemical solutions.

Escape: When trapped under pain, suffering, oppression, depression, it's natural to look for a way out. If there's a button you can push to make it stop, you'd push it. That's simple enough, but I'm sure you've heard of the saying "treating the symptom and not the cause."

Change. How can we treat the causes then? We change ourselves and mold our environment, so instead of  just feeling better, we will become better. We learn and build and make things work the way we want; that effort makes us feel empowered and gives us a sense of purpose.

What will happen when drugs (and other technologies) offer us shortcuts? Will it undermine our effort and erode our identity as human beings? There may be more practical concerns too: will shortcuts that let us alter our own goals lead to mental instability?

Feel. "Stop and smell the roses" sounds cliche, but it points to one of the main factors for happiness. Drugs can give us a new appreciation of our senses. Instead of always chasing after an ideal, we take the time to enjoy the things we have.

Control. So much stress and anxiety comes from feeling out of control, not only of external circumstances, but also of your own mental and emotional state. The Penfield Mood Organ from Philip K Dick's famous Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep enables a user to tweak his own mind with incredible precision. Though  that kind of control may not be possible with drugs, we will definitely see a trend in neuropharma toward greater diversity and narrower focus of effects (just because that will be bring in more profits).