Originally Posted by dalnet22

I will offer up the argument that most methods of experiencing pleasure and having "fun" are detrimental. Surely, an act can only be detrimental if it deters the actor / actress from achieving his / her goals. If I value life, it would seem detrimental to shoot myself in the brain.

Here are some arguments. You are free to respond however you'd like:

1. Sports are an exploitation of human's competitive nature. Whereas we are built / have evolved to survive, sports are an illusion - a way to trick the body into thinking we are achieving a valuable end. Perhaps in early times sports were of some serious value. Competitors from different, warring communities would fight to the death to see who was the strongest. Today, sport is a waste of human ability because there is no sincere end.

2. Masturbation is an exploitation of the body's drive to procreate. "Horniness" is a signal to find a mate, but it is deterred by relieving one's self. This act wastes much time and money that could be spent on more productive or more social tasks.

3. Watching movies, watching tv, reading fiction - These are exploitations of the human imagination.. the quest to discover new things. Instead of going out and finding treasure (for example), one can easily sit back and watch a movie or read a book about it. It's surely not the same, but it seems a lot less risky to sit in and watch others do it. Instead of making friends, we can sit inside and get to know some day time stars on the television. We can wait for the evening news to come on to get our fix for something new. It's like a simulation of reality. You aren't living your life, you're watching or reading about someone else living theirs. And they're not always real, as seen in fiction.

4. Video games - these blend 1 and 3. Instead of solving dire problems such as figuring out where to hunt for tonight's food or how to sail off a deserted island, humans today have it easier than in the past. It's become very easy to obtain what used to be a challenge. The challenge can now be found in video games, which are merely challenges or ways to exploit the human's desire to succeed and overcome. Instead of learning out to fly a plane, you can play a flight simulator. Instead of making real friends and hiking, you can sign up for an online game and role play with others you'll likely never meet. Once again, these are simulations of reality.

I could go on with other examples. Dancing, making music, playing music, it's all ways of avoiding real challenges.

A real challenge would be curing cancer; reading a book on chemistry to better understand the world around you; or seeking out relationships with people rather than staring at a screen all day.

Opinions? I'm not saying we should necessarily stop all of these "fun" things. I'm merely suggesting that they are exploitations of human functions. Am I wrong?