The Evolution of Pleasure

1. The Evolution of Pleasure By: Price Collins Kennon Parsons Eric Stohl Stewart Vaughn

2. What is Pleasure? Pleasure- Dictionary Definitions A state of frivolous amusement A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment. An event or activity from which one derives enjoyment or happiness.

3. Kennon - Pleasure Definition- a feeling of satisfaction that comes from a personal achievement and enjoyment from doing what one likes.

4. Price - Pleasure Definition- The feeling of euphoria that one feels after achievement; good or bad. A state of tranquility that overcomes a person when things go their way.

5. Eric - Pleasure Definition-A sense of temporary fulfillment one enjoys.

6. Stewart- Pleasure Definition - Anything than makes someone feel better; may be short term or long term.

7. Early Humans We developed pleasure centers as a means of survival. Choose mates based on appearance -Display stronger genes Nutritious food: -Ripest is most nutritious -Also sweetest -Learned to like sweet foods Sex became pleasurable: -More desire to procreate -More children born -More genes passed on Why Humans Developed Pleasure Centers

8. Monkeys Ate fruit for sustenance -Unripe fruit was sour and unappealing -Ripe fruit was sweet -Good taste drove them to eat nutritious foods -Pleasure was useful to survival Unfortunately now we can make anything we want sweet with excess sugar. The sweetest foods are no longer the best for us. The pleasure complex we developed for sweet things is now working against us. Development (cont.)

9. Peacocks Choose mates based on appearance Female peacocks are brown for camouflage Male peacocks are brightly colored -Fullest, brightest feathers attract mates -More mates attracted, more opportunities to pass on genes -Strongest genes are carried on Development (cont.)

10. Sexual Pleasure Physical Aspect Humans are more likely to choose a mate based on attractiveness Believe that better looking people are more competent, friendly, and better suited to have children with Casual sex developed from the pleasure derived from sex which was supposed to motivate us to have more children

11. Sexual Pleasure (cont.) Emotional Aspect Were early humans monogamous? Did they love their mates? How did love develop? Sex in other animals is a way to ensure that your genes are passes on to other generations. Humans began to derive pleasure from sex, motivating us to develop feelings towards our partners

12. Physical Pleasure Food: Food is necessary for survival Once resources became abundant due to mass manufacturing it became much easier for people to have too much of a certain nutrient, leading to obesity. Our drive to find the best tasting food is no longer helpful, all food can be made to taste good, whether it’s good for you or not Food can be used as a reward or a way to ignore problems. Our love for it has given it many more functions than mere sustenance.

13. Emotional Pleasure Social Aspect: Humans are social beings who need interaction with others. Originally, we interacted solely with our family groups but as we evolved and communities became larger we expanded our social groups. We now derive pleasure from knowing a diverse group of people and being able to learn from them. Knowledge: As our brain capacity developed, so did our thought process . We started to answer the questions that had confused man for generations. We had constantly been getting smarter throughout our time period, but we had an explosion of knowledge and learning during the renaissance.

14. Artificial Pleasure As we started getting smarter and creating new inventions, we found a way to induce pleasure with man made creations. Some of these “inventions” include beer, wine, and even drugs. The ancient Egyptians were the first to ferment grain and create a product we would call beer. They drank this substance not only for pleasure, but out of necessity. Beer contains enough alcohol that it kills any microbes and remains sanitary. The practice of drinking beer because water was impure until the late 19th century. Now when people drink alcohol, they typically drink it to induce intoxicating pleasure.

15. Drugs In addition to alcohol creating artificial pleasure in humans, drugs can also create a sense of happiness. One drug that humans took years ago was a mild form of cocaine. Indians used to chew the leaves of the Coca plant to give them energy and make them feel good. Today, some people process the leaves to create a drug which causes a large increase in energy and a euphoria. Opiates work by attaching to the pain receptors in the brain and effectively eliminate pain. Hallucinogens can make people feel good by tricking their brains into seeing things that are not real or gravely exaggerated. The risk of a “bad trip” does not deter users from taking the drugs. Artificial Pleasure (cont.)

16. Strive for Improvement As humans desire for pleasure increased, we constantly wanted to better ourselves. This led to innovation and discovery. Since the dawn of man, we have had three basic desires: food, shelter, and reproduction. As time went on, other desires developed such as friends, wealth, status, and knowledge.

17. Works Cited Sources we used for the presentation: www.google.com- Pictures www.associatedcontent.com/article/440926/evolution_of_the_human_desire_for_pleasure.html