Why do people like to watch bad news, heartbreaking documentaries, scary movies or listen to songs or stories about sad experiences? We also run marathons, climb mountains, put our bodies through immense stress and raise children, even though both of these pursuits come with struggle and pain?
Listen below, Paul Bloom, PhD, discusses why suffering is linked to meaning in life, the connection between pleasure and pain, and the difference between chosen and unchosen suffering.
From the American Psychological Association