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First off, allow me to expose my ignorance by stating I know nothing about philosophy besides my own constructed thoughts. I am not entirely sure if this is relevant here or not. I'm just a young guy speculating a lot about life lately ^^ With that said, if there may be a book or other piece of media of relevance, feel free to recommend!!!
Anyway, I'm curious what it is that goes on when we feel "good" when we perform a good deed, or are acknowledged / appreciated / accepted? I'm pretty cynic, and believe our world is held together by our own self-interest in many ways (if not every depending on how you look at it). I think good acts are rarely performed if a "good feel" is not at the end result (or a bad-feel if the opposite is chosen). But where and why exactly in the process of gaining acknowledgement resulting in good feeling, is the connection tied?
How and why does our brain know when to release good-feeling endorphins at the appropriate actions that live up to our perception of GOOD? My best guess is some result of evolution, since without the rewarded feeling of happiness from our positive actions, we would never have reached this far.
Oh and I do realize "good" is very subjective and can variate greatly depending on if you're a hobbyist murderer or parent raising your child. The actual feeling rewarded however, given your perception of what "good" actually is, must be objective and something you can actually point a finger at
... I could imagine I'm oversimplifying some complicated topics, but that's my strategy at the time being to tackle my uncertainties.. The more I speculate the less I feel I understand about this world I'm breathing in
Actually, the more I think about it, the more logical it seems to fall in under evolution or "natural selection". Existence of life, probably slowly developed over the span of billions of years, that rewarding GOOD, led to better survival for the given species. Now how does an animal know what GOOD is... uhh.. no clue, I guess at the level of.. non-existing intelligence, it's probably something similar to "how I wish to be treated myself", just at a more primitive level. Obviously the animal is not consciously thinking that 
Fast-forward billions of years, and combine the FEEL GOOD system with our intelligence, it has brought us to where we are today... Although that might explain why it exists; since it promotes actions that help survival - I would still die to know the scientific details as to how it works. Imagine we could manipulate it... I'm well aware we can already manipulate the body to FEEL good through drugs, but imagine we could manipulate the reward system? So you don't feel good when not doing anything good, like usual... But then when you go out and clean the dishes, instead of feeling good, you felt fucking awesome! :D Haha. life would be easy, no more laziness!!
Anyway, as an atheist who has no religion to rely on, but believes life is about happiness, it is extremely relevant and mindboggling for me to think about: where and why the source of this release is happening!!!? I'm surprised there are no obvious answers, since from what I'm juggling around with in my head, seems to me like this simple reactional mechanic is a major foundation to the existence, survival, and state of life itself....
What triggers the release of FEEL GOOD, when the perceived act of GOOD is executed?
GAHHHHH no sleep for me tonight 
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Few points since I just skimmed the OP in ~30 seconds:
- "Good" is not relative in terms of feeling good; on the most basic level it's the dopamine/serotonin/etc. releases that DIRECTLY causes the good feelings.
- In terms of altruism (performing good deeds in your words), people are "homo economicus". They give/share/help/etc. because it indirectly make themselves feel better, or at least, less bad. Read Superfreakonomics for some insights; an example would be someone donating to their local radio station - a seemingly selfless deed that isn't so, as that person in exchange receives a whole year of guilt free listening. His actions are motivated by ulterior motives, even if he does not realize it and simply act on a subconscious level.
As for your question:
What triggers the release of FEEL GOOD, when the perceived act of GOOD is executed?
Biology.
Evolution has taken place such that:
1. A homo economicus performs a "good deed", due to social/cultural/moral/etc. influences to feel better about themselves (every single person wants to believe that he/she is a "good" person), or less guilty.
2. When the aforementioned good deed has taken place, biological responses take over; organic chemicals (i.e. dopamine) / chemical neurotransmitters are released which causes the person to feel "good".
3. These good deeds are reinforced through positive reward-based conditioning.
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Good deeds also allow a society to function better. I like to think there's a kind of natural selection of societies, where those that have laws that condition people to act towards the good of all, prosper.
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On March 09 2012 12:13 EngrishTeacher wrote:
Few points since I just skimmed the OP in ~30 seconds:
- "Good" is not relative in terms of feeling good; on the most basic level it's the dopamine/serotonin/etc. releases that DIRECTLY causes the good feelings.
- In terms of altruism (performing good deeds in your words), people are "homo economicus". They give/share/help/etc. because it indirectly make themselves feel better, or at least, less bad. Read Superfreakonomics for some insights; an example would be someone donating to their local radio station - a seemingly selfless deed that isn't so, as that person in exchange receives a whole year of guilt free listening. His actions are motivated by ulterior motives, even if he does not realize it and simply act on a subconscious level.
As for your question:
What triggers the release of FEEL GOOD, when the perceived act of GOOD is executed?
Biology.
Evolution has taken place such that:
1. A homo economicus performs a "good deed", due to social/cultural/moral/etc. influences to feel better about themselves (every single person wants to believe that he/she is a "good" person), or less guilty.
2. When the aforementioned good deed has taken place, biological responses take over; organic chemicals (i.e. dopamine) / chemical neurotransmitters are released which causes the person to feel "good".
3. These good deeds are reinforced through positive reward-based conditioning.
Exactly - the feeling of happiness on the most basic level are chemicals being released in our brain... FACT
But this is an involuntary process, and not by coincidence I would believe. It's hard-coded into our very nature, as a result of what I believe to stem from evolution. It's what drives us forward.
BUT... Where, why, how??? What sets off the trigger and what is deciding when the trigger goes off??? How are we taking the reality we perceive, balancing it against our moral standards, and then our brain proceeding to magically and involuntarily release the "happy" feelings.
I feel good helping someone in need - this is obviously a result of my identity, society, my childhood past experiences etc. etc., but how is the brain forming the connection and association between the goodness that was performed with the "feel good" reaction - since they always seem to come hand in hand !!
Everything you say makes perfect sense, but it's your Step 2 where my thoughts are driving me mad - how is the brain recognizing the good deed that has taken place, before realizing it's time to make me "feel" good by releasing the necessary chemicals.
As a very practical example: lets imagine I'm sitting by my computer completely still, although using my keyboard and mouse. Without doing anything else but utilizing my hands, I visit a charity website and donate half of my life saving to charity. I know I did GOOD and immediately FEEL good about it! How did my brain associate the GOODNESS with the FEELING of good? That is the question 
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On March 09 2012 12:30 Wordpad wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 12:13 EngrishTeacher wrote:
Few points since I just skimmed the OP in ~30 seconds:
- "Good" is not relative in terms of feeling good; on the most basic level it's the dopamine/serotonin/etc. releases that DIRECTLY causes the good feelings.
- In terms of altruism (performing good deeds in your words), people are "homo economicus". They give/share/help/etc. because it indirectly make themselves feel better, or at least, less bad. Read Superfreakonomics for some insights; an example would be someone donating to their local radio station - a seemingly selfless deed that isn't so, as that person in exchange receives a whole year of guilt free listening. His actions are motivated by ulterior motives, even if he does not realize it and simply act on a subconscious level.
As for your question:
What triggers the release of FEEL GOOD, when the perceived act of GOOD is executed?
Biology.
Evolution has taken place such that:
1. A homo economicus performs a "good deed", due to social/cultural/moral/etc. influences to feel better about themselves (every single person wants to believe that he/she is a "good" person), or less guilty.
2. When the aforementioned good deed has taken place, biological responses take over; organic chemicals (i.e. dopamine) / chemical neurotransmitters are released which causes the person to feel "good".
3. These good deeds are reinforced through positive reward-based conditioning. Exactly - the feeling of happiness on the most basic level are chemicals being released in our brain... FACT But this is an involuntary process, and not by coincidence I would believe. It's hard-coded into our very nature, as a result of what I believe to stem from evolution. It's what drives us. BUT... Where, why, how??? What sets off the trigger and what is deciding when the trigger goes off??? How are we taking the reality we perceive, balancing it against our moral standards, and then our brain proceeding to magically and involuntarily release the "happy" feelings. I feel good helping someone in need - this is obviously a result of my identity, society, my childhood past experiences etc. etc., but how is the brain forming the connection and association between the goodness that was performed with the "feel good" reaction - since they always seem to come hand in hand !! Everything you say makes perfect sense, but it's your Step 2 where my thoughts are driving me mad - how is the brain recognizing the good deed that has taken place, before realizing it's time to make me "feel" good by releasing the necessary chemicals
How does your brain know to make you cry due to a death in the family? Evolution-derived chemistry. You hear about a family member's death; your auditory functions respond to the stimulus, your brain process that information based on past learning and decides that the information is indeed bad news, then it makes you cry.
I think you're just trying to ask how the brain recognizes and and processes information, to which top neurologists will tell you, "we know a little bit about where certain things take place, and how some processes work, but as for a comprehensive and detailed answer, we have no fucking clue". Maybe wait a few decades for an answer. GL with your sleep.
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Good point. And thanks, I'll be needing it.
LIFE... Y U SO MYSTERIOUS !!!
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EPT
