The unfortunate side effect of having higher mental faculties is the fact that pain is no longer only physical. If pain was still purely physical, mankind would only require physical remedies to relieve pain. However, since there is another level of pain that man (woman included) feels, necessity dictates that there is another level of pain relief.
What is the other level of pain relief? Friendship. Why friendship? Because friendship is a wonder drug that includes sympathy, empathy, understanding, affection, trust, and so many other wonderful qualities.
The utilitarian philosophy maintains that the goal of man in any action should be to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. While a person feels sympathy and empathy for another person, they absorb some of the ill person’s pain. This does not immediately minimize the amount of pain, but by absorbing some of the pain and therefore further understanding how the ill person feels, one can better console the ill person and possibly relieve some of the their pain.
C.S. Lewis says that friendship is not necessary for survival, but it adds value to survival. What is something without value? Meaningless. What is life without friendship?
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3 comments:
life without value has no meaning, yet many live without meaning day to day, week to week, year to year. I cannot fathom why you would choose a meaningless existence, yet freely they choose.
Life without friendship is not without meaning, just devoid of purpose.
You have hijacked my unimaginative titling theme.
If everyone is absorbing the pain of others, then everyone feels like crap. This is not socially beneficial.
If one can absorb pain one can also absorb happiness. The key is to know when and how to ring out the painful sponge.
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