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Old 05-17-2011, 12:28 AM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,756,157 times
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Two questions here, as the title implies.

I've always thought the worst pain you can feel is way worse than the best pleasure in Life, although now I'm not totally sure. I mean physical and emotional pain is terrible (while emotional pain is bad, I still don't think it equates to terrible physical pain. I'd take 10 years of grief over being hung drawn and quartered!), but feeling really positive also helps you cope with that.

It's tempting to think Life is more Bad than Good: most people in this world do go through at least some suffering, even in wealthy nations, and even if Life is good it can be boring and unsatisfying. Even when things are good, a part of me thinks that surely there must be something better.

Also, do you feel satisfied with Life as you know it? Not YOUR life, but life in general for most people.
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Old 05-17-2011, 10:11 AM
 
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I think the comparison you gave for physical pain(drawn and quartered) to emotional pain is a bit skewed...You're comparring mental pain to death. I personally would rather take some physical pain over deep emotional pain any day.As for life in general....unless circumstances prevent it...it's really what you make of it.I believe life in general could stand to be hugely improved for a vast amount of people...and just dealing with THAT fact causes me emotional pain.The best pleasures in life absolutely trump the worst pain...for extreme pleasure leaves NO room for anything else but.....and I do enjoy that.
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Old 05-17-2011, 12:25 PM
 
Location: Nashville, Tn
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I tend to agree with the basic thought of the OP. The unbearable intensity of being subjected to torture, suffering from certain forms of disease, or something of that nature is on a completely different scale than the most pleasureable experience that an individual could have. I think it's just the obvious fact that our senses will only stop our brain from suffering unimaginable pain if we pass out or die from it.
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Old 05-17-2011, 03:15 PM
 
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But don't you think that if you are experiencing an intensely pleasurable moment/moments ,the pleasure will actually block the pain, or at least make you forget about it?
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Old 05-17-2011, 05:45 PM
 
Location: Golden, CO
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I think it would make sense if it is true that the worst pain is stronger than the greatest pleasure. Pain teaches us to avoid or get out of situations that could seriously injure us or kill us, obviously hampering our survival and ability to reproduce. Pleasure on the other hand, at least in our evolutionary past, simply encourages us to do things that are good for our well-being or will likely result in passing on our genes to the next generation, and helping our loved ones survive. Both are important, but it only takes a little pleasure to get us to engage in an activity, and it is far more important for our survival and reproduction that we avoid situations that could injure or kill us, than doing things that simply promote our well-being. So, we might expect the greatest pain to be more intense than the greatest pleasure.
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Old 05-17-2011, 09:55 PM
 
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We can look at it from a slightly different angle.

Can you imagine anything more wonderful than immediate relief from constant, terrible pain?
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Old 05-18-2011, 05:51 AM
 
Location: Indianapolis
4,323 posts, read 5,998,765 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post
Two questions here, as the title implies.

I've always thought the worst pain you can feel is way worse than the best pleasure in Life, although now I'm not totally sure. I mean physical and emotional pain is terrible (while emotional pain is bad, I still don't think it equates to terrible physical pain. I'd take 10 years of grief over being hung drawn and quartered!), but feeling really positive also helps you cope with that.

It's tempting to think Life is more Bad than Good: most people in this world do go through at least some suffering, even in wealthy nations, and even if Life is good it can be boring and unsatisfying. Even when things are good, a part of me thinks that surely there must be something better.

Also, do you feel satisfied with Life as you know it? Not YOUR life, but life in general for most people.
We suffer the most when we do not love because love is who we are.

The best pleasure is better than the worst pain. I've been through emotional and physical pain and it has no comparison to the Divine Love that has entered my soul. The Love covers everything and can make even the worst pain unnoticable.
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Old 05-18-2011, 06:45 AM
 
2,958 posts, read 2,549,616 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post
Two questions here, as the title implies.

I've always thought the worst pain you can feel is way worse than the best pleasure in Life, although now I'm not totally sure. I mean physical and emotional pain is terrible (while emotional pain is bad, I still don't think it equates to terrible physical pain. I'd take 10 years of grief over being hung drawn and quartered!), but feeling really positive also helps you cope with that.

It's tempting to think Life is more Bad than Good: most people in this world do go through at least some suffering, even in wealthy nations, and even if Life is good it can be boring and unsatisfying. Even when things are good, a part of me thinks that surely there must be something better.

Also, do you feel satisfied with Life as you know it? Not YOUR life, but life in general for most people.
Why not my life?

I'm almost seventy seven years old and though I believe this story varies from individual to individual the answer is no. There's nothing better than the pleasures of youth and after this long I can't imagine anything which might change my mind. I've had a good life and if a truck runs me over...so be it.
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Old 05-18-2011, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Florida
23,154 posts, read 26,038,809 times
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The comparison is useless without considering duration.
Over a long period of time it's pretty hard to find pleasure of any but the briefest kind if the pain is severe,constant and unremitting
That includes emotional pain.
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Old 05-18-2011, 07:36 AM
 
2,958 posts, read 2,549,616 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by old_cold View Post
The comparison is useless without considering duration.
Over a long period of time it's pretty hard to find pleasure of any but the briefest kind if the pain is severe,constant and unremitting
That includes emotional pain.
I had some tough times during the early years but the satisfaction from my family, my work and the company of more than 300 young women definitely covered any possible suffering which might show up later. With modern pain medication how bad can it get?
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