What or why is pleasure?

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

Having spent much of my youth pursuing sex-and-drugs-and-rock-and-roll,
I eventually came to realize that I found those pursuits enjoyable because
I had simply decided that they were enjoyable. It was a grand placebo effect.
Now for those within that culture, they may not realize the extent to which
they are constructing their own pleasure. But ultimately, the hedonist should
realize the extent to which such pleasure is self-constructed.

Lets put this to an example. What music do you enjoy?
But more importantly, can you give very precise reasons as to WHY you
find that music enjoyable? Moreover, what about music that you hate?
What are the reasons that you dislike such sound?
How is it that many others enjoy what you dislike?

Its all about examining the reasons for your choices clinically.
After doing this, ask yourself the very tough questions about what makes sex
enjoyable, and if you have any substance preferences, then examine those closely.
Even certain foods become a source of peculiar amounts of pleasure,
so examine the psychological origins of those desires.

Ultimately, if you are honest, hedonism gives way to being able to extract
infinite joy from even the most ordinary events.

 

[Deidre]

Well, hedonism is basically about seeking pleasure for one's self and to that end, it should be the highest aim in one's life. But, I personally agree with Nietzsche - that embracing difficulties rather than running from them, will eventually give way to lasting joy, as opposed to only chasing fleeting temporal pleasures.

 

[LukeS]

Hedonism is a cheap brain hack.

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

Well, hedonism is basically about seeking pleasure for one's self and to that end, it should be the highest aim in one's life. But, I personally agree with Nietzsche - that embracing difficulties rather than running from them, will eventually give way to lasting joy, as opposed to only chasing fleeting temporal pleasures.

First time I have heard an agreeable Nietzsche quote.

 

[sayak83]

Having spent much of my youth pursuing sex-and-drugs-and-rock-and-roll,
I eventually came to realize that I found those pursuits enjoyable because
I had simply decided that they were enjoyable. It was a grand placebo effect.
Now for those within that culture, they may not realize the extent to which
they are constructing their own pleasure. But ultimately, the hedonist should
realize the extent to which such pleasure is self-constructed.

Lets put this to an example. What music do you enjoy?
But more importantly, can you give very precise reasons as to WHY you
find that music enjoyable? Moreover, what about music that you hate?
What are the reasons that you dislike such sound?
How is it that many others enjoy what you dislike?

Its all about examining the reasons for your choices clinically.
After doing this, ask yourself the very tough questions about what makes sex
enjoyable, and if you have any substance preferences, then examine those closely.
Even certain foods become a source of peculiar amounts of pleasure,
so examine the psychological origins of those desires.

Ultimately, if you are honest, hedonism gives way to being able to extract
infinite joy from even the most ordinary events.

I confess that I have no idea how hedonistic pleasure works. Apart from orgasm (which is pleasant but nothing to write home about), almost nothing you talk about in the hedonistic lifestyle ever felt enjoyable to me. Different brain wiring I guess. Not sure that is a good thing or bad. Because of my peculiar preferences (I visit museums and art galleries when I visit Vegas, also magic shows), I do get left out of the gossip grapevine where all the backscratching and backstabbing gets done.

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

I confess that I have no idea how hedonistic pleasure works. Apart from orgasm (which is pleasant but nothing to write home about), almost nothing you talk about in the hedonistic lifestyle ever felt enjoyable to me. Different brain wiring I guess. Not sure that is a good thing or bad. Because of my peculiar preferences (I visit museums and art galleries when I visit Vegas, also magic shows), I do get left out of the gossip grapevine where all the backscratching and backstabbing gets done.

having grown up under the vile and oppressive apartheid govt,
I got great 'pleasure' out of smoking the green stuff.

But after having studied psychology for some time, I realized that
I was getting pleasure out of doing what the govt told me not to do:
Going into the 'black' areas and buy their products; be friends with blacks.
As it is, marijuana is really mostly just a fragrant plant.

But its amazing how people convince themselves the pleasure is in the brain.
Even sex, is a subconscious desire to be close to our mothers -
the association of smell is at the core of deep-seated memories.

Ask yourself, what memories in your early life are evoked by galleries and museums,
and especially: magic shows?

 

[sayak83]

having grown up under the vile and oppressive apartheid govt,
I got great 'pleasure' out of smoking the green stuff.

But after having studied psychology for some time, I realized that
I was getting pleasure out of doing what the govt told me not to do:
Going into the 'black' areas and buy their products; be friends with blacks.
As it is, marijuana is really mostly just a fragrant plant.

But its amazing how people convince themselves the pleasure is in the brain.
Even sex, is a subconscious desire to be close to our mothers -
the association of smell is at the core of deep-seated memories.

Ask yourself, what memories in your early life are evoked by galleries and museums,
and especially: magic shows?

South Africa? My commiserations.
I don't believe in the Freud nonsense. It has no scientific evidence whatsoever. Long been debunked.

 

[MonkeyFire]

Paradise wills itself into existence to experience it's pleasure. That's why.

 

[VioletVortex]

Pleasure is a physiological and psychological esponse to anything perceived as beneficial to oneself.

 

[Saffer]

I think of pleasure as a category rather than a mere condition. We spend a lot of time not wanting to suffer. I see the word "pleasure" as an abstraction of the aforementioned desire to end or curb suffering.

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

South Africa? My commiserations.
I don't believe in the Freud nonsense. It has no scientific evidence whatsoever. Long been debunked.

Africa has its upside.
Fresh water, clean air, healthy food, lots of space and real animals in the wild;
enthralling landscapes, beaches, and perfect weather. The only problems here are social,
and that can be changed.

Claiming Freud is debunked entirely is incorrect. It has been rejected by westerners who
live in a blatant Freudian subconscious. Just look at how taboo words are all rich pickings
for Freudian analysis. Freud was however qualified by Jung, so his work should not be taken
to be a complete blueprint for the mind-brain. But to think that our minds are not at least partially
influenced by parental conditioning, would be certainly 'unscientific'.