Originally Posted by Para-Goomba
This whole issue reminds me of when people discuss altruism: does an act count as altruistic when it is done to relieve the aversive arousal you feel when seeing another person suffer?Wad, thank you for the excellent clarification of the question. You described the cause of my puzzlement far better than I could.
Yeah the old altruism dilemma was always curious. Does a good samaritan help another because he genuinely feels for them - or because he enjoys the feeling he gets (within himself) for helping another, even if it’s a “superiority” feeling in that he’s in a position to help a lesser person, so to speak.
I just want to clarify one thing: I know I’ve always stated, “PE for yourself, not for some other person.”
What I meant by that is don't put yourself through all of this struggle for 'Jane' (or 'Bob'), just to please them. Fuck that, do it for 'yourself.'
I suppose this can become as convoluted as the “Predestination/Free Will” debates. I’m just saying, don’t PE for some specific individual, in some pathetic effort to please them - because they can certainly walk away at any time. Do it for yourself - even though I would agree that it means “doing it for others,” in the general sense.
It’s legit to say, “I PE for all the women I will pound in the future.”
Fine.
But don’t say, “I PE for Sally.”