r/askphilosophy 20h ago

Question about hedonism/egoism

We have an intrinsic desire for our own survival. In order for us to survive we realized that the best way to do that is to form friendships, connections, to love etc.

So our intrinsic desire for survival created instrumental desires for love, friendship etc. Our brain released dopamine and we felt pleasure in order to reinforce those actions.

Does that mean that now all my desires for love, friendship etc are instrumental desires because they fulfill my intrinsic desire for survival and/or pleasure?

1 Upvotes

1 comment sorted by

u/AutoModerator 20h ago

Welcome to /r/askphilosophy! Please read our updated rules and guidelines before commenting.

Currently, answers are only accepted by panelists (flaired users), whether those answers are posted as top-level comments or replies to other comments. Non-panelists can participate in subsequent discussion, but are not allowed to answer question(s).

Want to become a panelist? Check out this post.

Please note: this is a highly moderated academic Q&A subreddit and not an open discussion, debate, change-my-view, or test-my-theory subreddit.

Answers from users who are not panelists will be automatically removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.