Pleasurable feelings, well, they are basically the same things chemically.
Modern world has created lots of different ways to experience pleasure, but I would posit that they are activating the same basic pathways.
It seems like it is typically a matter of scale and cost and effort.
Whereas previously you would hear music when played. You could hear music from a radio.
If the goal is to hear 'good music.' There is a scale of like how you could hear good music.
You could know someone who plays good music. You could have a position that gets you into cool music venues. You could pay to go to a concert.
Technology allows other options. You could listen to music on the radio. On the computer. Pay a streaming service. VR into a concert.
But consider opposite ends of the spectrum. You could play good music yourself. Record it yourself. Listen to it and create good music with other people. That requires effort and time and participation and skill. On the other hand, someone could pay a big name to perform music. That requires money and is consumption.
Consumption is fine, but like consider it.
That allowed someone to be heard by many people.
Consider that like, well, at the top of consumption is basically what people with social networks experience at the lower costs of consumption. The question is just some sort of vetting or societal approval and, of course, increase in skill.
Like a big time musician. Right now, say it is Beyonce. To have Beyonce perform at your house, I mean, you probably could not pay enough money to make it happen. But let's say at a point, you could pay millions of dollars to have her appear in a small venue. At the same time, she probably has friends or family or collaborators that have seen her make music in a small venue. And they probably paid nothing. Or it was part of the job (so they were paid). That is the difference between money and a social network.
Some people have both. Probably if the party was cool enough and put on by the right people, she would perform for free. Like a jam session at someone's house.
*Of course, I do not know her, few people really do, but recognize we are talking about Beyonce as a persona and performer, which is separate from Beyonce the person.
basic pathways of pleasure
I mean good food is good food. And like you could get that feeling of good food from expensive means or inexpensive means. You could pay a lot of money to get access to ethically raised, well fed meat. You could hunt it yourself. You could know someone who hunts and provides meat.
Presumably you would have to give something to someone to get the meat.
Basic pathways of pleasure. I posit that there is a similarity between road racing bikes, riding a horse on a race track, and running a footrace. I am talking about as a participant. Someone doing the thing. Roosevelt's man in the ring. Now a person living 200 years ago, well there were bikes, but they were not the technology available today at your local bike shop. However, they probably got a similar amount of pleasure, excitement, and satisfaction from riding the bikes of their time, riding them in a skilled way, and riding them fast. There are probably people who also get a certain satisfaction from like, VR sim racing, too. I know that is fun, for sure.
Technology, though, allows someone an idea, a taste, of what it would be like.
But it is not the same thing. And there may be consequences.
Downsides.
Having sex and watching video, sure there is a relation, but very different.
What I mean to say is that if you love the thrill of racing a car fast. Maybe you do go and spend moey on a race car and do track days. But the alternative is not just to get an expensive VR racing rig That is more like a practice thing.
But to corporeally experience the thrill of racing.You could get that on a road bike. That costs probably what a few months of tires would cost. And you could do it all the time.
Or a motorcycle.
If you like collecting, you could collect classic race cars at one price point, or you could collect classic motorcycles at another, or you could collect other things.
But the basic pathway is collecting. Or racing. Or sensory enjoyment of food.
What I am trying to say is that there are probably only a few basic things that humans do and like to do. And that everything in society, every complication, new technology, new innovation, is likely an adaptation or expansion of those core things.
And like, a typical person in a functioning society has been able to experience those things. The basic pathway.
There is a fighting sense. Some people fulfill it by fighting in bars, others by fighting weights in gyms, others by doing martial arts, others by playing video games. But see, that takes the corporeal out of it. Others by like playing chess even.
I actually think that car sim racing is closer to playing a difficult piano piece, and that racing a bike is closer to racing on a footrace, because the corporeal part is so big. Racing a car is probably similar to racing a horse maybe.
So basically I am idenfiying that there are physical mental axis.
And technology allows physical axis to be separated.
what are the basic pathways
questing - achieving challenges, but more than that. following a dream. a higher purpose.
daily grinding - small, achievable tasks that do not require much thought.
problem solving
overcoming challenges - engineering basically, using tools to overcome challenges
overcoming people, selfish enrichment - increasing personal weath, selfishness
sensory - touch, taste, sound, sight, smell
enjoyment of art - i guess this is sensory. it is a clearer description of sensory. basically creation of emotion in another person. typically thought of as experience and transmission of energy but it could be alighting of energy in another person. a painting is just the remnant, the thing you could experience and sell, the art took place in the person painting it, that was the event. the fire festival (huge spectacular expensive festival that people paid for, but never happened) actually did happen, but it happened for the people that were creating the promotions and advertising, sounds like they actually experienced it.
basically this whole thing comes down to experience of emotion and energy
story is a powerful way to produce these things
probably the most powerful way outside of strict chemicals - delicious spices are delicious spices, but the story of how it is complicated, exotic, or you are discerning, now you have added some fantasy to it
using imagination
movement - physical work. moving things. using your body. swimming, running, weight lifting, fight sports, walking, trekking
social - laughter (as a personal joy) and fellowship as belonging
discovery - learning new things about place, story, self, other people
self expression through art - musical instruments, drawing, singing, dancing, poetry, sculpture, painting, many things can 'transcend into art' beautiful car racing, beautiful craftsmanship (separate from ornate), beautiful oratory
enjoyment of nature