What a Relief!

Pleasure is the foundation that ethics is built on. It is the currency between individuals and is the purpose for most of the things we do. Everyone avoids the other extreme 'Pain'. It is impossible to do an exhaustive study on the subject but we will do what we can.

We have examined the subject previously and see that pleasure is an important part of happiness. There are different degrees of pleasure and duration. Short lived but the most intense pleasure is physical.We have to do things to spice things up. There is a pleasure that has to do with happiness that is based more in the soul. It can include physical but also has a degree of satisfaction, comfort, acceptance and commonality. To have everything one desires doesn't always make a person happy.  For a person who has turmoil in their soul, it is hard to be happy regardless what pleasure is experienced.

Over use of our appetites can cause us pain and we feel the most guilt about them afterward. Pleasures of the soul such as love, honor and care are hard to overuse. It is possible to be obsessed with being known and to care so much that it hurts your own life. But excesses in these areas only require adjustment and isn't considered bad. Trouble with appetites occurs when a person is focused on getting a pleasure for the sake of itself at the expense of other good things. This is what it means to be self indulgent.

When things are done to relieve pain, they are more prone to become a vice. A person who is excitable is more apt do things to relieve a natural anxiety. This can make them appear self indulgent. But not like a person doing something bad for the thrill of it. They try to satisfy a sort of pain that is a part of their nature. An extreme would be those who are alcoholics or drug abusers. They get drunk or high as a way to relieve pain and not for the pleasure in it.

Pleasure that comes from the stationary part of our soul seems to stay the longest. Although goods and accomplishments are necessary for happiness, only a satisfaction of the soul makes them worthwhile. We still have our own unique appetites and drive that give us enjoyment if we manage them well. They become difficult if the pursuit replaces peace in one's soul.  Aristotle believed that the restful pleasures are closest to Gods nature. The part that enjoys life for life's sake, reads for the enjoyment of reading and studies for the enjoyment of knowledge. And of course to have friends, not for what they can do for us but because we enjoy being around them.

Relationships will be our next subject.