I think it’s an interesting question in terms of evolutionary psychology and cognitive science as to why we have two separate systems for pleasure/pain and motivation/demotivation. We clearly do—there are certain chemicals and modes of stimulation that will make you feel extremely motivated to do something that you nonetheless find painful, and others which will make you massively enjoy something that you never feel motivated to do.
At first glance, it seems like natural selection would favor a single system—what is good for fitness, feels good; what feels good, you are motivated to do—but apparently this isn’t what happened. Why not? What advantage, in fitness terms, is there to being able to enjoy something you are motivated not to do, or to be motivated to do something that causes you pain?
IAMAEB, but the conjunction of system A and B, both of which have properties to which selection pressure applies, into system C which has all of those properties, doesn’t strike me as the sort of solution that evolves easily. There may not be any fitness advantage at all.
I think it’s an interesting question in terms of evolutionary psychology and cognitive science as to why we have two separate systems for pleasure/pain and motivation/demotivation. We clearly do—there are certain chemicals and modes of stimulation that will make you feel extremely motivated to do something that you nonetheless find painful, and others which will make you massively enjoy something that you never feel motivated to do.
At first glance, it seems like natural selection would favor a single system—what is good for fitness, feels good; what feels good, you are motivated to do—but apparently this isn’t what happened. Why not? What advantage, in fitness terms, is there to being able to enjoy something you are motivated not to do, or to be motivated to do something that causes you pain?
IAMAEB, but the conjunction of system A and B, both of which have properties to which selection pressure applies, into system C which has all of those properties, doesn’t strike me as the sort of solution that evolves easily. There may not be any fitness advantage at all.