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RE: Are You Not Entertained? Physical vs. Intellectual Conflict
I've thought of that also. What if materialistic determinism means even what we think is "directed" by our "choice" is still being driven by evolved impulses like any other animal? Interesting to consider.
Yes that is interesting to consider.
I have also been thinking about the original topic and what you said about Maslow's hierarchy of needs (self-actualization). Self-actualization according to Maslow, occurs when an individual reaches their highest potential and it is associated with self growth and meaning of life among other things.
Some could argue that athletes who are at the apex of their careers, in fact reach a state of self actualization. For instance, they strive to achieve their highest potential and since "purpose" and meaning of life is a subjective concept created by each individual's mind, perhaps the meaning of these athletes lives is simply to be the best they can be at what they are good at (sport). For them, maybe their purpose in life is to be a top athlete. As such, perhaps other individuals like to watch athletes because they admire individuals who are at their highest potential; individuals who are "self-actualized." Its just a thought. It would be just as easy to argue that sports are nothing more than cheap entertainment meant for the unintelligent portion of a population. I guess that depends on one's perspective.
I can see how each individual is going to put forward and show off their strengths though, whether they are intelligence, athletics, altruism, attractiveness...etc. Each individual is also likely going to put an emphasis on the importance of the traits that they themselves are privy to (IE. intelligent individuals will believe that intelligence is an important trait, attractive individuals will believe that attractiveness is important, and altruistic individuals will believe that altruism is important and so on).
I think you made an important point and it's why I wasn't commenting on the individual sportsmen directly, but more so on the forms of self actualization we value most as a species. Previously, physical strength was important for our survival and continued spreading of our genes. Today, I don't think it is so much and I'm arguing we should consider adjusting what we value accordingly.
The nice thing about all these various perspectives is we can actually measure them against each other to some degree. We can find peaks and valleys of wellbeing as Sam Harris describes in the Moral Landscape.
ahhh I see.
I agree with you that
I am not familiar with "The moral Landscape" or Sam Harris's work. I am curious how he proposes to measure such values.
now this however is spot on, IMHO