The Hedonistic Imperative Manifesto

[Tone]

The Hedonistic Imperative outlines how genetic engineering and nanotechnology will abolish suffering in all sentient life.

The abolitionist project is hugely ambitious but technically feasible. It is also instrumentally rational and morally urgent. The metabolic pathways of pain and malaise evolved because they served the fitness of our genes in the ancestral environment. They will be replaced by a different sort of neural architecture. States of sublime well-being are destined to become the genetically pre-programmed norm of mental health. It is predicted that the world's last unpleasant experience will be a precisely dateable event.

Two hundred years ago, powerful synthetic pain-killers and surgical anesthetics were unknown. The notion that physical pain could be banished from most people's lives would have seemed absurd. Today most of us in the technically advanced nations take its routine absence for granted. The prospect that what we describe as psychological pain, too, could ever be banished is equally counter-intuitive. The feasibility of its abolition turns its deliberate retention into an issue of social policy and ethical choice.

World's single greatest peice of literature

Table of Contents
http://www.hedweb.com/hedethic/tabconhi.htm

[Ilya]

so you dont read much huh

[DoTheFandango]

No. No.

You do that outside!

[Blanke]

It's only once a week, relax.

If you could get rid of pain genetically, then couldn't you get rid of other pleasures too consequently?

[Fluffz]

If you could get rid of pain genetically, then couldn't you get rid of other pleasures too consequently?

if u think about that, it just prooved 50-100 sites of weird arguments wrong. but id have said "self improvement is not the answer, maybe self destruction is" and have had gotten 7 points for a Fight club quote that way

[Tone]

It's only once a week, relax.

If you could get rid of pain genetically, then couldn't you get rid of other pleasures too consequently?

If you go to the 'objections' section of the HI, those questions and objections are listed and refuted

http://www.hedweb.com/hedethic/hedon4.htm#objections


But what are you asking? are you talking about contrast? 'pleasure existance is dependant on its contrast to pain'?

[genocidal]

That is not literature.

Instead of talking about this stupid topic let's talk about what constitutes literature.

I'll start: unless you're inaccurately referring to anything written and published as literature, I'd argue that literature must have a plot in some sense. Yes this would exclude philosophy books, which are in my opinion merely a collection of or extended essays, as well as poetry, your history textbook, your math textbook, and Tone's websites.

[Arikel]

...imagine life without pain...!!! It would suck!!
Sufering is as much part of being human as it is pleasure. It is a human feeling it is something that makes part of our life, it's what most of the times compels us to go forward and break barriers, it is one of the most strongh human emotions you can have. I'm not saying i like suffering but i prefer suffering for a whole lot of diferent reasons then knowing that i don't suffer because i was engenered not to suffer and that i was deprived of such a human feeling. It would be like all the earth would be stoned an having a great trip with those crazy genetics and you would be the only person awakened to the true and genuine feelings. Those articles don't sound feasible and i wouldn't allow them to touch me with any of those crazy things even if that would be possible.

[Wil]

Tone, what is your day job?

[Suh]

radiographer

[Superted]

I agree with Arikel.

Pain makes love special.

[Fluffz]

I agree with Arikel.

Pain makes sex special.

fixed

[Tone]

...imagine life without pain...!!! It would suck!!
Sufering is as much part of being human as it is pleasure. It is a human feeling it is something that makes part of our life, it's what most of the times compels us to go forward and break barriers, it is one of the most strongh human emotions you can have. I'm not saying i like suffering but i prefer suffering for a whole lot of diferent reasons then knowing that i don't suffer because i was engenered not to suffer and that i was deprived of such a human feeling. It would be like all the earth would be stoned an having a great trip with those crazy genetics and you would be the only person awakened to the true and genuine feelings. Those articles don't sound feasible and i wouldn't allow them to touch me with any of those crazy things even if that would be possible.

this is the dumbest most fucked up thing ive read in a long time. BS. all mumbo jumbo non sense excuses for accepting pain and suffering. pseudo wisdom crap. and if you were engineered in a particular way, youd actually have deeper and truer feeling that way, not less like Brave New World, the only difference is all the depth and intense feeling and emotion would all be only positive with no negative. there is no purpose to pain & suffering whatsoever. in the end all existance comes down to pleasure & pain. so theres no other purpose or meaning to life than reducing pain and increasing pleasure.

love can be even more special without pain. pain makes love negative and posionous. we can be fixed to experience no pain from love. if love fails memories could be erased. people could be altered to not be attached to any one love perhaps.

EDIT: but if two in love both have high oxytocin levels and their brain chemistry as such to never experience dysphoria and anxiety, their love could never fail.

[Saturn V]

Without pain, we've nothing to compare pleasure to.

[Cylor]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, anyone?