Evolution is a cold mistress. The only thing that matters to her is reproductive success. Evolution favors reducing suffering only to the degree that it results in more offspring. As a result, most life on earth must endure great pain at some point in their lives. While some pain is essential as a feedback mechanism, quite often it serves no purpose except to make the afflicted miserable.
However, as our understanding of neurobiology increases, we're stumbling upon the mechanisms which control pleasure and pain, as well as other emotional states.
As a result, instead of being wholly puppeted by our emotions, we'll be able to shape our emotional state to suit our long term goals--including the ability to tune the sensation of pain either up or down, as necessary.
One of the many tragedies of the War on (Some) Drugs is that research into these mechanisms has been stunted for decades. To give some idea of what we're missing, consider this trip report for the drug MXE:
"...the key feature of the hole at this level is the godike euphoria.
It feels as though you've literally entered the Gates of Heaven and that God and his angels are trumpeting your arrival as the Chosen One.
It's as if your entire body has erupted into the best orgasm of your life, times five, while you're winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Basically it's just...perfect. It's like you're bathing in a warm, radiant, existential glow.
Your entire consciousness is just absolutely immersed in a divine, godlike, ecstatic bliss. All is right with the universe, and I mean the entire universe; everything can be placed into perspective and anything, I mean anything at all that might be worrying you seems irrelevant in the grand scheme of the cosmic patchwork.
You 'get it' when you're in the hole, and the very fact that you exist is reason for a jubilant, joyous celebration of the soul.
You are in love with yourself and your existence and it's an unparalleled state of transcendental contentedness.
You feel, in a word, like God.
I successfully replicated this experience; this happened two nights in a row, so I know it's not a fluke.
So what do I do, now that I know that I can go to Heaven whenever I want, if only I pay about $2 for a line of white powder?
How does a person live with the knowledge that all of the kings that have ever existed, all of the richest, most successful people in the world, all of the spiritualists and religious leaders and monks of the world have never felt such bliss as I have, with this little white powder synthesized for the first time just a couple of years back?
It's better than any sex I've ever had, any accomplishment I've ever achieved, any friendship or love I've ever known.
How am I to process this?"
Now, not all MXE trips are so positive, nor does everyone respond so well. And easy access to such pleasure is no doubt risky.
But surely a drug that can cause such transcendent experiences is worthy of careful study?
https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96838
However, as our understanding of neurobiology increases, we're stumbling upon the mechanisms which control pleasure and pain, as well as other emotional states.
As a result, instead of being wholly puppeted by our emotions, we'll be able to shape our emotional state to suit our long term goals--including the ability to tune the sensation of pain either up or down, as necessary.
One of the many tragedies of the War on (Some) Drugs is that research into these mechanisms has been stunted for decades. To give some idea of what we're missing, consider this trip report for the drug MXE:
"...the key feature of the hole at this level is the godike euphoria.
It feels as though you've literally entered the Gates of Heaven and that God and his angels are trumpeting your arrival as the Chosen One.
It's as if your entire body has erupted into the best orgasm of your life, times five, while you're winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Basically it's just...perfect. It's like you're bathing in a warm, radiant, existential glow.
Your entire consciousness is just absolutely immersed in a divine, godlike, ecstatic bliss. All is right with the universe, and I mean the entire universe; everything can be placed into perspective and anything, I mean anything at all that might be worrying you seems irrelevant in the grand scheme of the cosmic patchwork.
You 'get it' when you're in the hole, and the very fact that you exist is reason for a jubilant, joyous celebration of the soul.
You are in love with yourself and your existence and it's an unparalleled state of transcendental contentedness.
You feel, in a word, like God.
I successfully replicated this experience; this happened two nights in a row, so I know it's not a fluke.
So what do I do, now that I know that I can go to Heaven whenever I want, if only I pay about $2 for a line of white powder?
How does a person live with the knowledge that all of the kings that have ever existed, all of the richest, most successful people in the world, all of the spiritualists and religious leaders and monks of the world have never felt such bliss as I have, with this little white powder synthesized for the first time just a couple of years back?
It's better than any sex I've ever had, any accomplishment I've ever achieved, any friendship or love I've ever known.
How am I to process this?"
Now, not all MXE trips are so positive, nor does everyone respond so well. And easy access to such pleasure is no doubt risky.
But surely a drug that can cause such transcendent experiences is worthy of careful study?
https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=96838