We Do Whatever Makes Us Feel Good

I said this to myself recently, certain that I had said something useful and meaningful.

But after thinking about it - I wasn't so sure. People can enjoy doing almost anything - including things that are not good for them, or others. And this has been known for a very long time.

The ancients did not consider the Pleasure Principle to be very important. What was important, they could see easily enough, was what everyone in a group believed. There would always be a small minority that believed differently - but they were not important, at the time.

Consider the rise of Christianity, originally a Jewish religious minority. What was responsible for its becoming so important? We don't really know, because it happened so long ago. But we can be sure it was because it made Christians feel better.

The question immediately arises - how did it make them feel better? And we can only guess at the answer. We can ask a similar question today "Why did Americans vote for Trump?"

Americans don't know, no matter what they may say - and, in fact they don't want to know. They just knew most Americans were for him - and that was good enough for them.

The interesting question, that has never been answered, was "How did they know this?" Every poll indicated he would lose - but he won by a landslide.

Americans were aware of social signals that nothing else could detect.

Scientists have insisted that this kind of signalling was impossible. But they are beginning to modify their views on this. They can conduct experiments that show this mass behavior is real and is powerful!

They don't have the equipment that can detect these signals - all they can do is observe its effects on people - after it happens!

Politicians and advertisers do the same thing - trying to detect these changes, while they are happening. Attempts that are not always successful. But if they are, this gives them an important advantage!

On the other hand, movements who do not detect these shifts in public opinion - are at a serious disadvantage, and may even disappear.