Ambitions

We humans have ambitions that give us pleasure above mere bodily pleasures and survival instincts. This makes us different from animals. Each person has a unique way to express them. Some are good at functionality and others at artistic expression. We can all enjoy and appreciate not only the our own creations but those of others; be it construction, poetry or music. Our ambitions produce all forms of art. 

Since enjoyment is confined to our moments in time, it would follow that we would want to focus on every moment to give it the pleasure we want it to contain. Every moment ideally should be filled with a satisfaction about the past, a certain amount of contentment and anticipation for good in the future. We don't want regrets, misery or impending doom cluttering our hearts and lives. 

A person feels pain when required to do things that don't interest them; the things we enjoy bring pleasure. In the same way that virtue gives good character, pleasure associated with an art produces a good product. A musician is one who loves music, an artist, painting and an architect, design. When the activity is enjoyable to a person, he will want to excel in it. When we do things other than what we love, focus is lost and the product isn't as good. A person can only realistically focus well on one thing at a time. The distraction can range from something of less interest that is still good to something that isn't good for us at all. Sometimes providing necessities can interrupt our ability to use our talents. We all have to work to support other people's interest in order to live well enough to pursue our own. 

The pursuit of happiness involves our own desires, actions and the resulting pleasures that go with it. It should be our goal to encourage others in their pursuits even if we have no interest in their passion ourselves.When we have an interest we do better to understand that others might not have the same ones. That is how people are made free in their pursuits. If there is no pursuit, or a person lives by distractions, talent isn't actuated. Envy and blame have no place in a free society. Our sense of well-being depends on how we manage our own moments. It is the actual arena of success. An ambitious person will look for ways to balance pressing needs with doing what they love; at the same time enjoying each moment it takes trying to get there. 

Pleasure in Living

We have concluded a few things about pleasure. It seems to be what everyone is after. Pleasure isn't a good because not all pleasures are good for us. But we can’t say it is a bad either since taking pleasure in noble things is good for us. People who have understanding of an activity will enjoy them more. A musician understands music, enjoys it and will have a better handle on what good music is. A just or a kind person in the same way will enjoy justice and kindness. The end product is what puts a pleasure on the good side rather than the bad. And when we make use of our unique interests, pleasure is enhanced. The absence of pleasure isn't the reason we go after more or a different kind. A person can have all his needs met but it is normal to seek more. Pleasure isn't confined to our senses alone. A person can be sick or handicapped and still enjoy life.

Aristotle gives it certain characteristics. It is similar to sight where the image is confined to the moment. Any given moment an image is registered in our brain and the image is complete. We can experience a blissful moment but we always move on to the next moment or scene. The pleasure itself is complete and not lacking anything but time is constantly moving. So enjoyment isn't a deficiency such as a hunger where we try to add more over time. It isn't something that is created piece by piece. It is something we experience completely as each moment arises. That is where the saying “Live in the Moment” applies. We also cannot be continuously pleased because everything we do takes energy; we get tired and also lose interest. The things we are good at give us the most pleasure. We aren't talking about just feelings or actions but when our interests and goodness are involved, being pleased can be continued from one moment to the next.  Bliss or a pleasant state of being is a combination of these things. Acting on our interests and desires is completed by pleasure. It makes life worth living. Do we live for pleasure or take pleasure in living? The answer doesn't matter since pleasure and the activities of life are bound up together.

Since this is established, let’s move on and examine the different kinds of pleasure. Pleasure intensifies the activities we have interest in. Everyone has varying interests and we will get into these next. 

Critical Pleasures

The study of pleasure is a critical part of understanding the actions people take. Aristotle takes the view that people always do the things that please themselves. It is the source of these desires and the resultant actions that have been debated through the centuries. Psychology and Philosophy both try to explain this.  The study of pleasure is a vast one that can go in quite a few directions. We can’t do an exhaustive study without taking a little time to organize the different faces of pleasure.

Character is judged by what we take pleasure in. We have seen how self-discipline is having the ability to delay a present pleasure for a while in order to get a more pleasing result. It is almost easier to study pleasure from the standpoint of what causes pain. Pain can be caused when we have too much of something, too little or the absence of it. Displeasure and grief indicates that a pleasure is missing somewhere. It might be manufactured where a person can be never satisfied when their expectations are unrealistic. It could be that a little patience is needed.  It might require a little adjustment in both areas. There are always expectations to look at along with the realities.  Expectations have to do with our desires and what it takes to satisfy them properly. The realities have to do with the costs and amount of work involved.

If we could find a way to please everyone, the world would be a perfect place to live. Why do people chase the things they do? What kind of pleasure is there in terrorizing others? Why are so many people on anti-anxiety drugs? What does it take to bring bliss? Religions, governments and social studies try to answer these questions. But the source of Bliss is pleasure; based in our heart’s desires, our soul’s satisfaction and our body’s appetites being appeased.  A deficiency in any of these areas can bring misery.  The thing about bliss is that it isn't a state of mind but something that has to be constantly tended and maintained.

This seems to be more of a reintroduction since I want to get this subject right. Pleasure is critical to understanding ethics. We want to do what is right and yet accomplish our dreams. Nations, businesses and families all want this and yet everyone has different interests. We don't want to live the life someone else thinks we should live but we get more pleasure with the things we initiate in our own lives. In a situation where everything is given to us by someone in exchange for loyalty, it is difficult to be happy. There is a God-likeness in all of us that wants to be free to do as we will. The conflict between the pleasure of comfort and the pleasure of freedom makes it hard to form governments and to govern ourselves. There is so much that this subject covers that it is hard to stick with the subject at hand and continue on with the flow. Let’s continue anyways and give it a shot.

Pursuits

Words mean concepts and so it is good to explain their meaning at times because the common meanings change over time. When we are talking about pleasure in this context, a better word would be "joy". It is the combination of pleasures in the area of the rational, irrational and physical parts of our being. Pain in this context would be better described as misery.
It would be nice to put all our motives under these terms and say that we should simply avoid misery and do things that bring joy, but that is over-simplistic. Even when we should be happy with what we have, there seems to be another element to satisfaction that is missing. Aristotle addresses this. The problem is that in the three areas mentioned, we always get familiar and have a need for stimulation of some kind. We get tired of the same foods, scenery and things that have to do with our senses. We get tired of the struggle to be a good person not to mention our passions always want more. We want to experience more close relationships.We want a challenge. If everything becomes old, (and everything does eventually) futility hangs over us and we get depressed and anxious. This can make our life miserable even when from the outside everything looks great. The more creative a person is and the more passionate, the more work it takes to deal with this. We tend to do things compulsively to break out but it ends up an exchange for pleasures in other areas. Things that violate our conscience and those we love will make us miserable.
I think the book Ecclesiastes in the Bible addresses this well. The book is depressing in some ways but it is the musings of Solomon, a highly intelligent man who had everything a person could ever ask for. He concludes that having all the wealth, travel, women, intelligence and power in the world is nothing but vanity, a chasing after the wind. His says that in the end, we should enjoy ourselves as much as possible while we still have our senses. The saying. "Eat, drink and be merry", comes from this book. But he also says to keep in mind that we will answer to God. This addresses the rational and principled part of our soul we mentioned. Another suggestion he makes is to "enjoy the wife of your youth". Meaningful relationships are an anchor when everything else is blowing away. His final conclusion is to be "occupied with gladness", we shouldn't live a life of regret but keep our thoughts focused on what is good.
If it was possible to have a community of people who are genuinely happy, there would be no need for laws. We are talking about Ideals when we talk about ethics. We all have unique talents and passions. It would be wonderful if they could all be actuated safely without hurting others. That can be a tall challenge but happiness is worth the effort. There is no sense to back away from challenges; we need them. But it adds work to consider others while pursuing our passions. The founders of our country considered the pursuit of passions the biggest danger to governing since our laws need to be applicable to everyone; even if they don't share the same passions. That is the challenge of everyday life. Not everyone values our pursuits as we do.
So joy is the result of our passions, rational principles, and physical pleasure having a degree of satisfaction. It isn't something we ever arrive at permanently. By appreciating what we have and keeping the drive for new experiences, joy is experienced in lives.

What a Pain!

It would make sense that we address pain since we looked at pleasure. We are oriented to avoid it at all costs. Pain isn't evil as some would have it. Pain has benefits and is a product in the same way that pleasure is. Bodily pain can remind us we are overdoing it  or have a problem. The pain isn't the problem itself but a result. Sensual pain does have benefits too. A song that is out of key or a instrument that is out of tune can be painful to a skilled musician. But that is a good thing since adjustments make the music sound better. It seems that when pain comes, it is can be an indicator for improvement.
We avoid some of the things we desire because of the pain involved. When we look at matters of the soul, the same principles that apply to the body apply there. We don't have to avoid reality to see something isn't feasible because all the pain involved in getting it. In situations where there is a strong desire but a need to do what is right, there is no need to hide or deny the desire. It is a matter of choice. It is reasonable to move toward what would cause the least pain and preserve the most pleasure. In relationships, all the people involved are included in this. Adjustments can be made for a manageable amount of what one desires or it can be avoided altogether. But whatever decisions are made we have to be prepared to endure the pain on one side because of the loss, while enjoying the pleasures that we chose to move toward. This is only complicated by our aversion to pain.

If it Feels Good

We hear the saying, " If it feels good, do it". Where do we find pleasure in this? Is pleasure just a feeling that comes from our emotions? Is true pleasure only found in doing what is good? Maybe it is the "it" that is the pleasure. Nailing down what pleasure really is can be complex and prone to opinions. Since it is what everyone pursues and wants to acquire, it is a good subject to study for a while.

We equate happiness with having a certain amount of pleasure. When we educate children, our goal is to get them to take pleasure in doing what is good. We use examples of pain and pleasure to teach good character. It makes sense that we would define this further.

When we talk about pleasure, it is more than a feeling. They come and go. It is a product of feelings and other things. We can say that happiness is a culmination of pleasures. It comes from both the rational and irrational part of our soul. We get pleasure out of getting what we desire and also out of doing what is right. There is action involved too. Pleasure isn't an action itself but can be a product of them.

When we use the word "sensual" in our culture, it is applied to sex. But sensual in a strict sense is merely using our senses. So when a desire or creativity comes from our soul and we take action, it becomes a part of our senses rather than something in our mind. We see a painting and it gives us pleasure through sight. If we create it, the pleasure can be more because it came from our own mind. To hear someone is better than just thinking about them. But the kind of pleasure that is a well-being pleasure is more than something our senses pick up alone. Someone who doesn't like music doesn't enjoy it when it is picked up by their hearing as well as someone who likes it. What our senses pick up is the realm that is commonly called reality; an area that doesn't always include our soul.

Pleasure is derived from a combination of things that converge together. A person can enjoy some things in life but still be miserable inside. Pleasure includes fulfillment of our desires, doing what is right and accomplishments that involve our senses. Absent any of these, we feel something's missing even while the others seem good. To find ways to appeal to each area while we live out our lives can be challenging but the goal is to make it a pleasurable experience.

This is a quick overview of the subject. I am not sure if I am going to go to the next one or be a little more specific. Until next time!

Love and Pleasure

For those who love each other, the existence of the other brings great pleasure. That is why they like to be together; to experience the same things in a partnership. Whatever one enjoys, the other wants to share in it since one person is an extension of the other. Good friends will also have this to a degree and will want to experience things together such as humor, music, art or sports. They enjoy the other person just being there and enjoying the experience. Whatever they enjoy as an activity will  have a product. Good music, philosophy or hunting will be supported by the participants. When wicked people get together, it produces bad things since they are unstable. They may even get in worse trouble. When good people get together, they encourage each other to do better. And that is what good friendships do; they improve each other.

The next subject is pleasure. We are raised with the understanding that there are things we should and should not enjoy. One school of thought is that if it feels good, do it and the other is that we should deny ourselves and our feelings. Which is correct? We see all the time that those who teach denial end up being hypocrites and go after pleasure anyways; even if it is hidden. Those who do what they feel all the time end up on meds or in some sort of vice. Theories abound but the facts always clash with them. This looks like an interesting subject so lets see how it pans out..

The Best of Times and The Worst of Times

We have established that a person with good character has an easier time keeping good friends. No matter how good a person's life is, they always need people to care for and to have others care for them. Although it is a good thing to have friends, time and proximity limit us to having only a few close friends even if we were all perfect people. We should strive to make the best of our friendships regardless of the limiting factors.

It is hard to have many close personal relationships since conflicts occur when one or the other has a need. If one person is mourning and the other having fun, how should we act? So it often gets down to there being a certain person that we give our ultimate love to. We see soldiers and politicians who have a right hand man and see those who are "Partners in Crime" or "Evil Twins". History is full of them. People tend to pair up due to the limitations of proximity and time. We can  have few close friends due to the same limitations. A person who claims to have numerous close relationships would be expected to also have shallow ones because they would have to spread themselves too thin to realistically be close to that many people. The extreme of this would be a people-pleaser who becomes a slave to feeling well liked.

We do need friends in bad times and good. In bad times a friend can be a help and we seek those who are useful. A friend can be pleasant during these times and can also share our burdens. It is nice to have someone who empathizes with us. In good times it is nice to have a good person to enjoy them with and to give help to. It is better to be a person who avoids burdening others with our problems and also better not to take advantage of someones good fortune. So the ideal friends will be there to rely on for support but a good person will avoid using it unless becomes necessary.

A good friend will insist on helping someone they are close to when they grieve even when they aren't asked.. It is also pleasant to enjoy what one has with someone who not only appreciates it but is enjoyable to be around. So there is also a balance to enjoying another person's good fortune too. A person should be ready to share his good fortune with his friends while avoiding troubling them with his problems. A good friend will be ready to help others without being asked yet hesitate to ask for help. Unsolicited help is always the best kind. If it is asked for, someone loses the satisfaction of offering. In the same way, with good fortune, it is best to have someone offer to share since they enjoy sharing rather than because they were asked (or demanded) to help out.  We can conclude in all of this that it is good to have friends in all circumstances.

We will conclude friendship and head on into a study of pleasure in the next post. The discussion of pleasure is the start of book ten and the end of the entire study of Ethics.

Physical vs Spiritual

The Greeks had a predominate philosophy that the physical world was corrupt and the spiritual is pure. We see this in Aristotle's writings and he tries to show why that is so but he stops short of calling materialism and pleasure wicked but only says there is a proper application to each. Concerning friendships, having ones that are for usefulness and ones that are for pleasure aren't bad but the ones based in intellect last the longest and bring the most satisfaction.
All mankind throughout the centuries has based philosophy and religion on observations concerning physical and spiritual. We see the physical world and our pleasures are temporary and prone to decay. But where does the life that animates things come from and where does it go? Life works contrary to physical laws and so it must have a power all its own, must be pure and must be eternal. Our own intellect and reasoning abilities are superior to the rest of the world. It seems inconceivable that it would die out in the same way that a plant does. Every philosophy and religion tries to explain this. Some have special places such as heaven that everyone goes to. Some use these destinations as incentives to do good for others. They have hell for those who are bad and different levels for those who are heroic and good. And there are the spiritualists that simply think everything is a continuum and life just goes from one death and activates another life somewhere. But they all try to address the mystery of how physical life is temporary and a spirit is an individual creation that cannot die the same way. The basic Christian view is that not only is the spirit redeemed but all physical objects will be put right in the future.
Concerning our actions though, the desires that we use all our senses for are the most pleasurable. It is better to go to a place than to simply read about it. It is better to see someone than to simply text them. But our intellect gives us an avenue for experiences that we couldn't otherwise have; television and listening to the radio along with books too. It is the actions that use senses other than our mind that determine our character to ourselves and others. Actions bear ramifications and a wise person carefully considers them. Recklessness may have the appearance of courage; but a person who considers options and is willing to plow through to accomplish best ones has true courage. Relationships that are both physical in proximity and intellectual in commonality are the most rewarding. And this is the conclusion that Aristotle comes to also. He doesn't seem to stand by the philosophy that the spiritual is pure while physical is bad.

Closeness

We have found that the friends that last the longest and the the ones we need even when all our needs have been met are the ones that we want to celebrate life with. Everyone has friends that bring pleasure and those that are useful. These aren't inferior relationships, they simply have a different function. Conflicts arise when people make false assumptions or misrepresentations. It is always best to make expectations clear and to be honest with our friends. If you need someone's help, a person shouldn't try to hide behind closeness to manipulate things. In a utility relationship where help is needed, there is an expectation of a fair exchange. But those who are celebrating life together will help each other out without expecting anything back. The relationship is enough but they will still try to be just.
We can have an unlimited amount of friends that are useful. This goes all the way up to national relationships. Those who entertain us and give us pleasure are also a dime a dozen. But to have someone that celebrates our life with us is a rarity. This person is someone that values your existence, wishes you well, and wants badly to interact with you. A person can have very few relationships like this and normally choose to experience the ultimate love with one person. This supersedes physical objectives and activities.
In every relationship, there can be a mixture of each kind, but the dominating factor should be the most important consideration and should be made clear.