What Is Wrong With Dad?
Posted by Tanasije Gjorgoski on November 29, 2006
-”What’s wrong with dad?” – the little girl asked her mother.
-”His brain isn’t processing enough serotonin,”- she replied, “so his body is in a slouched position as a result and his tear ducts are excreting toxins. If we put our arms around him and say kind words to him, his brain might start processing serotonin again”
Is this how people will relate to one another in the distant future if we reject the idea of qualitative experiences? Do Churchlands speak like this at their home?
This is what my friend Ben Dickson was wondering about in one discussion we had.
Sam D said
As I’ve eaten too much chocolate, I’m currently (probably) processing too much serotonin right now!
It’s an interesting question though. Will we simply substitute one label “sad” for another “not enough serotonin” or will we really change the way think about experiences? I doubt the position of rejecting qualitative experiences will ever catch on in with the general public, but the distant future is a long way away so who knows?
notgonnatakeit said
That’s what most people have been reduced to; chemicals and numbers.
Madison
niniane said
Maybe – however, it seems to me that popular culture moves in a very different way than the scientific community. Today, scientists and philosophers use terms no hip hop artist would use. The same is true in reverse. The general population is influenced by both.
Tanasije Gjorgoski said
Hi Sam, I don’t believe that scientific theories will change the way we talk either. I hope they won’t. But our theories about the world do affect how we experience it, for better or worse.
Madison, 42, to be exact!
Niniane, good points.
Maybe someone could write a thesis on how this dual influence causes schizophrenic general population.