The Concept of Pleasure, Issue 14The question "What is pleasure?" has been a thorn in the side of philosophy since the time of Socrates. David L. Perry attempts to arrive at a satisfactory answer in the form of a definition of pleasure. In the end, he offers two definitions, turning on two radically different notions of pleasure--that of enjoyment and that of being pleased about. Perry is best when dealing with the cognitive aspects of pleasure and with pleasure as a reason for acting. He discusses the extent to which belief is involved in pleasure, the notion of a "false pleasure," the relation between taking pleasure in something and thinking it a good thing, one's knowledge of one's own pleasure, and the ways in which pleasure can be given as a reason for acting. In the end, it appears there can be no single definition of pleasure, and this problematic concept remains to be satisfactorily elucidated by philosophers. |
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act or activity Aristotelian Society Aristotle attitude aware belief C. D. Broad cause cognitively Concept of Mind concept of pleasure concerned considered context definiendum deliberation delight desire dreaming emotion English Language enjoy a thing entails believing Ethics evidence example exists expressions false feeling Friedrich Waismann Gilbert Ryle gives pleasure glad glows gratify hallucinating happiness hedonic hence Ibid implies International Dictionary interpretation involves Jones justified or unjustified kind Kurt Baier locutions logically necessary mean ment moral necessarily Nicomachean Ethics Nowell-Smith object of enjoyment occur one's pleasure oneself ordinary language organic sensation Oxford English Dictionary perhaps person is pleased philosopher phrase Plato pleas pleasant proposition question reason Richard McKeon s.v. pleasure satisfaction sense sentence Smith so-and-so sometimes sort of thing speak specifically statement take pleasure Tennessen term Thalberg tion true W. B. Gallie Webster's Dictionary Webster's New International