Why Do Humans Feel Pleasure?

I got this short response from a reader to my Bulletproof Pimp Philosophy page.

“hedonistic philosophy.... enjoy your pleasure... what you describe will never be true happiness.”

Of course, hedonism as a philosophy means that a person should do whatever feels good. My first impulse is to respond by saying my philosophy is not hedonistic –cocaine, for example, may feel good, but it’s a dumbass idea to start using it. My philosophy is deeper than that, and so on....

But I realize I need to start with a much more basic point. From the reader I get the sense that he is conflicted about pleasure. In his mind, pleasure is associated with sin, guilt, hostility to God, etc.

But let’s ask the question...Why do humans feel pleasure?

If you believe that God created humans, there has to be a purpose to pleasure. If pleasure is an obstacle that has to be overcome, or is a trap to lure a person into sin, then why did God create humans to feel pleasure? Either he screwed up, or was acting randomly, or has a sadistic streak in that he creates humans with weaknesses and sets them up to fail, so that he can punish them. None of which makes sense.

Whether you believe in evolution or in creation by God (and especially if you believe that humans were created), the only solution that makes sense is that all emotions are purposive. In other words, feelings are not random accidents, but serve a purpose. All emotions serve to guide us toward constructive behavior.

For instance, if I eat a fruit, it strikes me as tasting delicious. Why doesn’t a rock taste as good? Fruit tastes good because it is nutritious. Rocks taste bad because they are not nutritious. Is that an accident? No. If I see a dead animal I feel disgust, which is a healthy emotion that prevents me from exposing myself to germs.

I think we need to beware the Christian dichotomy in which some emotions are “bad” and others are “good.” A classic example is anger. Anger is supposedly bad, but what do you feel when you find out a child is being horribly abused? You feel like beating the hell out of the abuser. I argue that’s a healthy response. What kind of person would you be if you learned of a child being physically, mentally, and sexually abused and said, “Hey, it’s not my problem. Oh my gosh, I’m missing the Steelers game!”

Here’s where it gets juicy. Why do men feel attracted to young, beautiful women with big breasts? Why do men want sex with strangers and multiple partners? Either you believe that it’s an accident of evolution, that God screwed up, or that God made humans evil just so he could set them up to fail. Or, you believe as I do, that men’s sexual desires are healthy. Sexual pleasure guides us toward healthy behaviors.

For instance, scientific evidence shows us that there is sperm competition, in which multiple men have sex with one woman, and are engaged in a reproductive arms race to become the father of her child. If humans were monogamous by nature, this wouldn't be so. So we’re faced with a choice, either we’re the product of random genetic mutation in a simian ancestor, or humans were not designed by God to be monogamous.

If we’re supposed to be monogamous, why aren’t we designed that way?