I'm with him on this thought experiment all the way up to the last paragraph: "I can't think of any imaginary situation in which long term happiness could come from other people. The best you can hope for is that other people won't thwart your efforts to make yourself happy."
On the contrary. Almost completely, happiness is other people.
Yes, it almost isn't a thought experiment. The only difference is that friendship is not as easy as pressing a button. The button would only work if people you like would press it, and it would have to stay pressed for a while before having any effect. This is enough for many people to be lonely, regardless of any irrational social rules about pressing buttons.
This morning my wife flew back to her country for a 3 week holiday. I suppose I'm going to recover soon but right now I'm still having depressive thoughts.
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I'm with him on this thought experiment all the way up to the last paragraph: "I can't think of any imaginary situation in which long term happiness could come from other people. The best you can hope for is that other people won't thwart your efforts to make yourself happy."
On the contrary. Almost completely, happiness is other people.
Yes, it almost isn't a thought experiment. The only difference is that friendship is not as easy as pressing a button. The button would only work if people you like would press it, and it would have to stay pressed for a while before having any effect. This is enough for many people to be lonely, regardless of any irrational social rules about pressing buttons.
This morning my wife flew back to her country for a 3 week holiday. I suppose I'm going to recover soon but right now I'm still having depressive thoughts.