right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
"They're not the same at all!"
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"
What is right for the spider is wrong for the fly.
Right/Wrong is subjective and entirely depends on the surrounding circumstances of those involved and how the action in question affects their interests.
Well, it means there's no objective right or wrong without context. And we people are the context, so while there's no right or wrong, no magical karma system that would judge your actions, there are things that are very obviously right or wrong from the point of view of other people.
Nah, hormones are just a chemical compound. It's the brain that gives them meaning. Which itself is pointless without the body which gives it context.
We're really the whole package - you're as much your legs as you are your brain.
Modern research usually shows that - your body and your mental health are deeply connected. A trauma physically alters your brain. How you feel directly shapes how healthy you are. And how healthy you are shapes how you feel.
I suspect that's where evolution comes in, as it is a strong driving force that's pushing us in a direction continuously, so in that sense we evolved a sense of happiness or sadness.