I don't drink regularly, but sometimes at parties I get quite drunk and it's fun. I don't need alcohol to flirt or talk to people, but being drunk is a different experience. It's a warm, pleasant, things seem like funny and easier.
To me the strong version of argument seems to also support "why do you eat tasty food"? Can't you just learn to appreciate less tasty food? I mean sure, but where does that argument stop?
In reality, we probably agree, I think alcohol in most situations is not what I want and indeed I can act how I want in situations without alcohol. I don't drink alcohol to become less inhibited.
Yeah I’m not trying to respond to all pro-alcohol arguments in this post, only the ones related to signaling. The second part is meant to be about what people really mean when they use the signaling argument to justify drinking at parties etc. Indeed there is also the “drinking is fun” claim which I am not responding to (but my response would be something like purposefully damaging your intelligence and self-control is an act of disrespect and disloyalty against your mind and identity, doing that for fun or finding it fun in the first place means something is wrong).
I find it very unnerving if someone is willing to make themselves stupider and less self-controlled in order to feel warm and pleasant. This seems like misunderstanding what it means to be a conscious human.
Do you find it unnerving that a person might walk outside rather than work to improve the consciousness of others? Feels like this trade is one that most parts of me willingly engage in and is non-permanent.
The consciousness of others is irrelevant here. I am unnerved by people not valuing their own consciousness. But indeed I would work very hard to preserve the consciousness of people I care about. I do feel obligated to do my upmost to dissuade the people I love from drinking and taking drugs that damage their intelligence, even temporarily.
I don't drink regularly, but sometimes at parties I get quite drunk and it's fun. I don't need alcohol to flirt or talk to people, but being drunk is a different experience. It's a warm, pleasant, things seem like funny and easier.
To me the strong version of argument seems to also support "why do you eat tasty food"? Can't you just learn to appreciate less tasty food? I mean sure, but where does that argument stop?
In reality, we probably agree, I think alcohol in most situations is not what I want and indeed I can act how I want in situations without alcohol. I don't drink alcohol to become less inhibited.
Yeah I’m not trying to respond to all pro-alcohol arguments in this post, only the ones related to signaling. The second part is meant to be about what people really mean when they use the signaling argument to justify drinking at parties etc. Indeed there is also the “drinking is fun” claim which I am not responding to (but my response would be something like purposefully damaging your intelligence and self-control is an act of disrespect and disloyalty against your mind and identity, doing that for fun or finding it fun in the first place means something is wrong).
I find it very unnerving if someone is willing to make themselves stupider and less self-controlled in order to feel warm and pleasant. This seems like misunderstanding what it means to be a conscious human.
Do you find it unnerving that a person might walk outside rather than work to improve the consciousness of others? Feels like this trade is one that most parts of me willingly engage in and is non-permanent.
People sell their mind for such a low price. I’d understand it if they were being paid thousands of dollars per unit of alcohol maybe.
Are you worried about long term damage to my mind? I am willing to hear that.
But if you mean for the 12 hours I am drunk/lower function the next morning, surely that's no different than spending 12 hours at a wedding?
The consciousness of others is irrelevant here. I am unnerved by people not valuing their own consciousness. But indeed I would work very hard to preserve the consciousness of people I care about. I do feel obligated to do my upmost to dissuade the people I love from drinking and taking drugs that damage their intelligence, even temporarily.