Disclaimer
The principle this article is grounded in the idea that all that exists is the current moment and the memories we have of the past. I make no predictions on afterlife, merely I assume that all we have is now and nothing is guaranteed except the laws of physics. The tricky thing is that I am going to use my values to ascribe the labels good and bad to certain things so this may not agree with some people.
I respect the religious views of various cultures and do not wish to offend.
This article is my personal endeavor to practice clarity of speech, rationality, and viewing the world in a different way.
Value structures
The central claim here is that the way we behave in the world is based on what we value. We live out our values through our actions and interactions in the world. The actions we take at any given moment are predicated on the underlying values that we deem as most important in that moment. Whatever is most probable is what we act out. It seems redundant to point this out, but whatever actions happen, were the most likely to happen because they happened. In a sense, it is deterministic.
The probability that we will take a certain action in a given moment is predicated on all moments prior and affected by the environment we are currently in. We are the sum total of our actions and experiences so our past determines the likelihood of an event occurring now. The world is an ocean, and every prior moment is a ripple in that ocean, cascading in all directions and affecting the other moments that will come after.
The cool thing is, that as far as our forebrain and consciousness is concerned, we are able to choose what we do next. We are also able to create stories about what happened and this in turn affects our emotions surrounding events. That’s why I’m writing this article. I’d like to bring this idea into view for more people.
Our values are like multipliers for how likely we are to make certain decisions. The things we value play a critical role in how our lives play out.
Definition of relative
(Entry 1 of 2)
1: a word referring grammatically to an antecedent
antecedents plural : the significant events, conditions, and traits of one’s earlier life
2: a thing having a relation to or connection with or necessary dependence on another thing
Relative judgements
Good, bad, evil, funny, stupid, normal, essentially all adjectives (or most) are relative terms used to denote how much “something” that something is. For instance, if I say a person is stupid, I am describing their stupidity relative to my own experiences of interactions with people and how relatively intelligent I thought them to be. I am also comparing their intelligence to my own.
Adjectives are relative judgements based on the prior experiences and judgements of an individual.
Acknowledgement of Universals
There are certain things that are nearly universal for human beings due to our biological nature. (if that seems vague it is because I cannot begin to explain why we feel the way we feel and what feeling is).
For instance, pain is generally not good unless the individual can ascribe a narrative to why that pain is good. If you are working out, it’s not comfortable, but it’s pretty easy to create a narrative for why it is good pain, i.e. no pain no gain.
Of course “easy” is a relative term so I mean easy compared to other things like creating a narrative for why the pain of stabbing yourself is good.
Other examples of biologically determined universals are; the differences between the perception of sweet, salty, colors, sleeping and being awake.. etc.
The reason I said differences between the perception is because we cannot tell if my version of sweet is the same as yours, but we can mostly agree on the idea that sweet and salty are different things.
What is Good?
Good is relative to a goal. IF it is your goal to be happy in this moment, good is whatever makes you feel good in this moment. Feeling good is relative to your values. If you value comfort, eating pizza, chilling on the couch, or doing whatever makes you feel comfortable right now is GOOD. If you value pain, or you’ve created a narrative surrounding a certain uncomfortable thing, maybe feeling good right now means feeling pain because you’ve created that to be a good thing in your mind and are now stimulating feel good chemicals based on that narrative.
The point here is that good is relative to achieving a goal. For most people the goal is to be happy, or at least neutral in most of the moments of their life if not all. This sounds a lot like hedonism, but anyone who has ever eaten three large pizzas by themselves knows that maximizing current pleasure doesn’t always lead to sustained happy moments.
The goal then is to try and have good moments most of the time, but not to do something in the present that will probably lead to some terrible moment later on.
What is Bad?
Since we are biological creatures dictated by chemical processes occurring in the brain and body, bad for most people is something that causes pain. Of course as mentioned prior, we can create narratives around the pain so that it no longer hurts as bad and we can find some form of meaning in the suffering.
Bad can also be defined (feels kind of lazy to define it this way) as anything that is not good. This implies that you have your definition of good defined. Bad is something that brings your farther from your goal.
Values and lifetime GOOD AND BAD
Values should give meaning in life. I’m making this claim because when you have subjective meaning in life, life feels easier. I’m saying that this is a good thing relative to the definition that good is something that leads to an overall collection of subjectively enjoyable moments in life.
What makes a bad value
Bad values are finite. If you want to keep generating meaning in your life and having something to do, you need to have a value or system of values that guides you for a long period. Finite values end once they are accomplished or disproven. If all you have are finite values making up your values system, then once they are gone, you have a void of meaning that will need to be filled.
Why does this void need to be filled? It doesn’t, but if you want to not have to fill it and feel weird for a while, you need to have meaning that sustains long term. This can come from good values that are not finite. Meaning can also come from a large collection of finite values as long as they don’t all get disproven or end at the same time (that would suck).
Examples: fame, fortune, winning a game, winning a race, having lots of sex, basically anything with a specific number attached to it or anything based on an idea that can be easily disproven or taken away.
What makes a good value
A good value is one that can sustain you throughout your life and doesn’t end.
Good value examples are love, kindness, learning; intangible things like that which are based on a subjective meaning you ascribe to them.
These are good values because they last a long time, and can be found in any situation, even the holocaust.
Man’s Search for Meaning
Wikipedia generally provides good summaries so here is what they have to say about Viktor Frankl;
Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, and Holocaust survivor. He was the founder of logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life’s meaning as the central human motivational force.
– Wikipedia
Frankl is relevant to this article because he is a prime example of what I alluded to earlier.
good values last a long time, and can be found in any situation, even the holocaust.
– me
Frankl survived the holocaust and during his time, he found meaning in the kindness and dignity he held as inherent qualities of himself. He didn’t succumb to the temptation to steal rations from others or to treat the sick with any less respect. He created meaning in the horrible, hopeless suffering that was the Holocaust.
As far as he knew, he wasn’t getting out of there alive. To him, the mud, feces, and pain surrounded by barbed wire was to be his domain for the rest of his existence. The amazing part of this, is that in spite of this suffering he acted according to his values. These values sustained him in a period of intense pain. These are good values, they lasted in a scenario where he controlled nothing except his thoughts.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Frankl’s values
What were the values that sustained him? Frankl never expressly states them so they must be gleamed from the pages in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning. It is likely that he valued optimism and the approach of finding the good in all scenarios. It is also probable that he valued kindness based on many of the deeds he performed during the Holocaust.
As I said in the beginning of this article, we can tell what someone values by their actions, so that is the only way I am able to surmise a guess as to what values Viktor Frankl had that were able to sustain him throughout his time in the Concentration camps.
Stoic Values
Another set of values that has proven themselves to be useful in the creation of a sustained meaning are the values of the stoics; Wisdom, Justice, Temperance, and Courage.
These terms are subjective to the user. If I hold these values in high esteem and find meaning in acting them out despite circumstance, then I will likely be able to find meaning for a very long time.
WHY? Since these are subjective, I can find situations to act them out in any scenario, therefore, even in dire straits I will not lose my meaning.
We have seen the values of stoics endure trials and tribulations ranging from slavery (Epictetus), the responsibility of an emperor (Marcus Aurelius), and the threat of death (Seneca). Even Theodore Roosevelt held true to these values during his time as President of the United States (although he doesn’t explicitly state it).=
Combining Values (finite and infinite)
Before wrapping up, I’d like to circle back to finite values for a moment. They are not intrinsically bad, and there is nothing wrong with valuing finite things. In fact, good (relative to meaning) value structures are often an amalgamation on infinite AND finite values.
It can even be fun and provide added joy to have things to “look forward to” and goals to chase. The key is to have the values be built upon a strong, infinite base value or group of values.
As humans, we are goal-oriented creatures with our actions dictated by neurotransmitters communicating in tandem, throughout the brain. Relative levels of dopamine are largely responsible for motivating us to take action towards a goal.
The cool thing is by subjectively giving meaning to something, we can increase our dopamine or “attach dopamine” to that goal. The phrase action begets action describes this phenomenon fairly succinctly.
Action begets action
– Unknown
Notes on Dopamine:
The information I present here has been pulled from the Podcastnotes.org summary of Episode 39 of the Huberman Lab Podcast. In this podcast PhD Andrew Huberman of Stanford details the science of the neuromodulator, dopamine.
- Dopamine is the primary determinant behind how excited we are, how motivated we are, and how ready we are to push through things to get what we want
- Dopamine is a neuromodulator (different than a neurotransmitter) – influences the communication of many neurons at once
- Dopamine influences motivation, drive, craving, and time perception
- Two main pathways: (1) mesocortical limbic pathway – responsible for reward, motivation, craving; (2) nigrostriatal pathway – responsible for movement
- Dopamine release can be local or broad
- Dopamine communicates via g-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) so its effects take longer to kick in and actually impact gene expression
- Neurons that release dopamine also release glutamate
- Dopamine makes people crave and pursue things outside of themselves
- With Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia dopamine dies
- Dopamine is not just about pleasure: it’s the universal currency of foraging and seeking things that will provide sustenance and pleasure in the short term and extend life in the long term
- Dopamine controls the perception of time: when we engage in activity for the sole purpose of reward, time will feel longer because we are not releasing dopamine during the effort – only the reward
- Access reward from the process and associate dopamine release from friction and challenge you are in during effort instead of only once goal is achieved – convince yourself the effort part is the good part (e.g., intermittent fasting)
Access reward from the process and associate dopamine release from friction and challenge you are in during effort instead of only once goal is achieved – convince yourself the effort part is the good part (e.g., intermittent fasting)
– Andrew Huberman (Episode 39)
TOO LONG: What does this mean?
If you can convince yourself to “trust the process,” “enjoy the grind,” or anything relating to leaning into the activity regardless of the outcome, you can attach dopamine to the activity.
By doing this, a multitude of things will occur. For one, your perception of time will speed up. The activity itself will begin to feel more pleasurable as well. In addition, you will find it easier to want to engage in this activity again and you will want to do more.
Identity
Since we act out what we value, it follows that our identity is rooted in these values.
The way we view ourselves is critical in determining how we rationalize our actions.
If we see ourselves as the kind of person who does a certain action, we’re more likely to materialize that in the world.
By materialize, I mean the actions will be taken and be a part of the timeline of events that have occurred.
How to change values
Act them out. Actions begets action. Convince yourself something is important, engage in the action, and you will come to find it begins to get easier. (see dopamine above)
This is the cool thing about values. If we want to change what we value, start doing those things that a person who values that would do.
You don’t need to wait to be ripped before your start eating healthy and acting like an athlete.
You don’t need to wait to be educated before you act like someone who is by reading and enjoying learning.
Act as if, and you will likely begin to feel as if you are that type of person.