Pleasure

Against the Intrinsic Value of Pleasure

by Matthew Pianalto

The Negative Ontology of Happiness: a Schopenhauerian Argument

by Manolito Gallegos

In this essay I will examine Schopenhauer’s contention that there is, in fact, no happiness, and that instead it is... more In this essay I will examine Schopenhauer’s contention that there is, in fact, no happiness, and that instead it is merely a lack of suffering that we label as such. To do this, I will first explore the claim itself, as well as some additional hypotheses and arguments that Schopenhauer presents for this position. I will then make a number of objections and provide refutations for each of them, with the resulting conclusion being favourable for Schopenhauer’s position; however, I will also comment on some areas of philosophy that could possibly yield problems for the position, as well as discussing briefly what sorts of further conclusions might be drawn from the nonexistence of happiness, and which areas are clearly not affected by it without further argumentation.

The distinctive feeling theory of pleasure

by Ben Bramble

Plato on the Psychology of Pleasure and Pain

by Mehmet M. Erginel

Phoenix, forthcoming

Plato’s account of pleasure in Republic IX has been treated as an ill-conceived and deeply flawed account that Plato... more Plato’s account of pleasure in Republic IX has been treated as an ill-conceived and deeply flawed account that Plato thankfully retracted and replaced in the Philebus. I am convinced, however, that this received view of the Republic’s account is false. In this paper, I will not concern myself with whether, or in what way, Plato’s account of pleasure in the Republic falls short of what we find in the Philebus, but will rather focus on the merits of the former. My concern will be further narrowed down to the first half of the third proof: the proof involves two criteria for the evaluation of pleasures, the criteria of purity and of truth, both of which yield the result that the philosopher’s pleasures are the most pleasant (because it turns out that only those pleasures are pure and only they are true). I will be addressing the criterion of purity, which is based on a psychological/phenomenological account of pleasure and pain. This account has been harshly criticized as full of ambiguity and confusion. I believe, however, that these criticisms result from misunderstanding, and failing to appreciate the complexity of, Plato’s account. In this paper, I will offer an interpretation of Plato’s psychological account of pleasure and pain in Republic IX, showing that this account is, contrary to its detractors, both interesting and persuasive on many points.

Plato on a Mistake about Pleasure

by Mehmet M. Erginel

The Southern Journal of Philosophy 44/3 (Fall 2006)

Plato argues in Republic IX that people are often mistaken about their own pleasures and pains.  One of the... more Plato argues in Republic IX that people are often mistaken about their own pleasures and pains.  One of the mistakes he focuses on is judging that an experience of ours is pleasant when, in fact, it is not.  The view that such a mistake is possible is an unpopular one, and scholars have generally been dismissive of Plato’s position.  Thus Urmson argues not only that this position is deeply flawed, but also that it results from a confusion on Plato’s part.  In this paper, I show that Urmson’s criticism is misguided.  I then defend Plato against the idea that it is impossible for someone to make the mistake in question.  In doing so, I bring out details in Plato’s text and show that his account of the phenomenology involved in making this mistake is far more sophisticated than has so far been recognized. 

Inconsistency and Ambiguity in Republic IX

by Mehmet M. Erginel

The Classical Quarterly 61.2 (2011).

Plato’s view on pleasure in the Republic emerges in the course of developing the third proof of his central thesis... more Plato’s view on pleasure in the Republic emerges in the course of developing the third proof of his central thesis that the just man is happier than the unjust. Plato presents it as the “greatest and most decisive” proof of his central thesis, so one might expect to find an abundance of scholarly work on it. Paradoxically, however, this argument has received little attention from scholars, and what has been written on it has generally been harshly critical. I believe that this treatment of the argument has been unfair and that the relevant passages deserve a more careful and charitable interpretation. In this paper, I take up two serious charges that scholars have leveled against this proof, that it is inconsistent and that it involves a “fatal ambiguity”. I show that these charges result from misinterpreting Plato’s text, and I offer an alternative interpretation of the relevant passages. In doing so, I hope to shed some light on the complexities involved in Plato’s unappreciated third proof.

Goodness and Justice

by Ben Bradley

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 84 (2012): 233-43

Review essay on Joseph Mendola's Goodness and Justice. Review essay on Joseph Mendola's Goodness and Justice.

Plato on Pure Pleasure and the Best Life

by Emily Fletcher

Arqueologia dos prazeres

by Fernando Santoro

Mga Kwent-O ng Sarap: Exploring Orgasms as Sexual Pleasure in an Undergraduate Human Sexuality Course

by Eric Julian Manalastas

Manalastas, E. J. (2011). Mga kwent‐o ng sarap: Exploring orgasm as sexual pleasure in an undergraduate human sexuality course. In J. A. Cantiller & J. A. Yacat (Eds.), Isip: Mga kaisipan sa sikolohiya, kultura at lipunang Pilipino (pp. 89‐122). Quezon City: National Association for Sikolohiyang Pilipino.

One of the most concrete instances of pleasure is orgasm – the intense subjective experience of sexual pleasure... more One of the most concrete instances of pleasure is orgasm – the intense subjective experience of sexual pleasure brought about by masturbation, sexual intercourse,and other forms of erotic behavior. To explore this, 47 Filipino students in an undergraduate human sexuality course conducted orgasm interviews – face to face conversations with 87 women
and 101 men about their first and most recent experiences of orgasm. This chapter discusses the process, outcomes, challenges, and potentials of orgasm interviews as a learning tool for exploring and analyzing Filipino sexual pleasure that
can be used in courses in gender, sexuality, and psychology. The psychological and political value of creating open discursive spaces about sexuality and sexual pleasure is emphasized, particularly in the context of Filipino sexual culture.

Emotional imagery: assessing pleasure and arousal in the brain's reward circuitry

by Vincent Costa

Ergonomic Design Structured through Activity Theory

by Denis A. Coelho

by Denis A. Coelho and Sven Dahlman

Proceedings of Virtual Concept 2006
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, November 26th - December 1st, 2006

Compatibility between theoretical structures of comfort, pleasure and cognitive engineering (themes of ergonomic... more Compatibility between theoretical structures of comfort, pleasure and cognitive engineering (themes of ergonomic design) is demonstrable. Pleasure pursues adding gains; comfort and cognitive engineering struggle with relieving pain and minimizing loss. The psychological human aspect is common to these three Human Factors quality design approaches. Commonalities were found between comfort and pleasure and between cognitive engineering and pleasure. A common underlying structure of activity-goal-user-artefact was demonstrated on the basis of empirical studies. This showed that deriving measurable variables and identifying operatives could be done form the operation level of activity theory. Activity theory enabled structuring and organising a research-design process underlying the conduction of specific design studies. This process is also suggested as applicable for designing Human Factors and Ergonomics quality wherever theory gaps are found.

Keywords: cognitive engineering; pleasure; comfort; methods ; approaches; conceptualizations.

Ergonomic Design Structured through Activity Theory

by Denis A. Coelho

by Denis A. Coelho and Sven Dahlman

Proceedings of Virtual Concept 2006
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, November 26th - December 1st, 2006

Compatibility between theoretical structures of comfort, pleasure and cognitive engineering (themes of ergonomic... more Compatibility between theoretical structures of comfort, pleasure and cognitive engineering (themes of ergonomic design) is demonstrable. Pleasure pursues adding gains; comfort and cognitive engineering struggle with relieving pain and minimizing loss. The psychological human aspect is common to these three Human Factors quality design approaches. Commonalities were found between comfort and pleasure and between cognitive engineering and pleasure. A common underlying structure of activity-goal-user-artefact was demonstrated on the basis of empirical studies. This showed that deriving measurable variables and identifying operatives could be done form the operation level of activity theory. Activity theory enabled structuring and organising a research-design process underlying the conduction of specific design studies. This process is also suggested as applicable for designing Human Factors and Ergonomics quality wherever theory gaps are found.

Keywords: cognitive engineering; pleasure; comfort; methods ; approaches; conceptualizations.

Do People Seek Pleasurable Products? A Questionnaire Study Shows the Relevance of Designing for Pleasure

by Denis A. Coelho

By Denis A. Coelho and Sven Dahlman.
Published by Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal
Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal, Volume 5, Issue 5, pp.631-654.

Denis A. Coelho has been responsible for the creation and development in the University of Beira Interior of an entirely new program of studies in Industrial Design (undergraduate studies leading to a Bachelor’s degree) and Technological Industrial Design (Masters program). He has also designed and helped design post-secondary programs of studies including Multimedia product development, E-commerce web applications and multimedia web applications. As a Mechanical Engineer with an Ergonomic Design and Production Management post-graduate education his research has focused in several areas. He has worked with car seat comfort (ergonomic design) and has also been interested in Management Systems in Small and Medium Enterprises, as well as providing a contribution to the advancement of ergonomic design methods. He has also participated and coordinated Multimedia design projects, focusing on the application of ergonomic guidelines at both the conceptual and application level. International exposure has included research performed in collaboration with Swedish and US universities, applied to the automotive and healthcare sectors.

Apart from the satisfaction of fulfilling a utilitarian function, a product can give its user pleasure, not only in... more Apart from the satisfaction of fulfilling a utilitarian function, a product can give its user pleasure, not only in terms of its ergonomic fit but also through its aesthetic qualities (qualities pertaining to beauty) (MacDonald, 1998). The issue of pleasure in product design has received growing attention in recent years. As a result, the goal of human factors in product development enlarges from the relief of pain and discomfort and from contributing to the creation of safe and usable products to promoting the pleasures that products can bring to their users (Jordan & MacDonald, 1998).
Our objectives in this article are to discuss basic premises underlying theoretical constructs on ‘pleasure with products’, showing, at the same time, people’s positioning towards this new approach to ergonomic product design, and, most important, stimulate ideas for innovative pleasurable designs and for research to build pleasure into products.

Keywords: Pleasure, Questionnaire, Product Design

Realms of Men’s Pleasures: Straight Porn and Gay Porn as Places of Construction of Masculinities and Male Sexualities [Ríše mužských slastí: heterosexuálne porno a gay porno ako priestory konštrukcie maskulinít a mužských sexualít]

by Michal Bočák

Bočák, Michal. 2011. "Realms of Men’s Pleasures: Straight Porn and Gay Porn as Places of Construction of Masculinities and Male Sexualities." Paper presented at interdisciplinary conference Construction of Masculine Identity in Past and Present, Olomouc (Czech Republic), 10th June 2011. [Paper in Slovak submitted for review.]

Porn as a popular discourse of sexuality, after adopting of significant status in Western culture, has acquired the... more Porn as a popular discourse of sexuality, after adopting of significant status in Western culture, has acquired the power to re-/define practices and identities of sex, gender, and desire to a considerable extent. In each video, there exist a variety of discursive elements and strategies, through which the meanings of represented sexual practices, performing subjects and their identities are being framed. Mainstream straight and gay porn, despite numerous shared discursive characteristics, are perceived as specific discourses in this study. Straight porn makes the male body symbolically invisible, while gay porn glorifies it. However, both types of pornography operate as noticeable articulations of masculinity, although with varying degree of explicitness. The analytic part of the study discusses selected analogies and differences in the construction of masculinities and male sexualities. As an example of analogies between the analysed pornographic discourses, the gangbang genre is examined thoroughly. In these videos, socially interlinked group of men shares a common sexual object and the collective celebration of masculinity and male homosocial bonds appears to be more important than the object itself (regardless of its sex/gender). As an example of differences, the representation of male anality is being interpreted. While in the gay porn the male anality is presented as a possible means of achieving pleasure, in the straight porn its potential is significantly repressed (e.g. visual tabooisation of male anus), or the anality is ostentatiously employed for representing a perverse pleasure and/or masculine dominance.

Keywords: gay porn – straight porn – masculinity – male desire – gangbang – homosociality – anality – pleasure – power

Circuits of power, circuits of pleasure: Sexual scripting in gay men's bottom narratives

by Trevor Hoppe

No Fun: Aporias of Pleasure in Adorno's Aesthetic Theory

by Erica Weitzman

Published in German Quarterly 81.2 (Spring 2008)

“Fun” functions as at once cipher and overdetermined signifier in Adorno's writings. Clearly of the enemy camp, the... more “Fun” functions as at once cipher and overdetermined signifier in Adorno's writings. Clearly of the enemy camp, the term variously encompasses kitsch and “culinary” art, commodity fetishism, fascist ideologies, historical amnesia, and the general tawdriness and tackiness of Southern California in the 1950s. But “fun” is also closely allied with the play (and perhaps also the pleasure) “without which there is no more possibility of art than of theory” (Aesthetic Theory 38). These and similar ambiguities offer the possibility for reexamining, and even recuperating, the importance of fun in Adorno's own aesthetics. This essay first examines the at times contradictory significations of “fun” and its associated terms in Aesthetic Theory and other works. Second, it asks what “fun” art might actually mean in terms of Adorno's theories, focusing in particular on the question of the art-cognizing subject and the status of “fun” as both the anathema and the inevitability of aesthetics.

Lacans Antigone: Zur Normativität des Lustprinzips und dessen Jenseits

by Christoph Holzhey

in: Normativität des Körpers, ed. Anne Reichold und Pascal Delhom, K. Alber: Freiburg/München, 2011

Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Funktion des Lustprinzips bzw. seines Jenseits in Jacques Lacans Ethikseminar.... more Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Funktion des Lustprinzips bzw. seines Jenseits in Jacques Lacans Ethikseminar. Die zentrale Rolle, die Antigone in diesem Seminar als Verkörperung eines reinen Begehrens einnimmt, lässt fragen, inwiefern Lacans Ethik des Realen letztlich als ästhetisch begründet und somit insbesondere als durch Lust-Unlust-Empfindungen des Körpers samt Psyche bedingt zu verstehen ist. Sicherlich wendet sich Lacan mit Kant gegen utilitaristische Ansätze, in denen der Körper durch seine Unterscheidung zwischen Lust und Unlust Normen zur Verfügung stellt. Indem Lacan stattdessen auf ein Jenseits des Lustprinzips abzielt, kommt dafür der Unterscheidung zwischen dem Lustprinzip und seinem Jenseits eine normative Funktion zu. Meine Grundfrage ist dabei, ob nicht durch diese Verdopplung von Unterscheidungen die ursprüngliche Annahme einer elementaren, unhintergehbaren Lust-Unlust- Unterscheidung infrage gestellt und letztlich in eine grundlegende Unentschiedenheit geführt wird, die Normen nicht vorgibt, sondern fordert, und schon die Abgrenzung eines Bereichs jenseits des Lustprinzips als eine unreflektiert normative Konstruktion erscheinen lässt.

Paradoxical Pleasures in Aesthetics Masophobia, Sexual Difference, and ETA Hoffmann's' Kater Murr'

by Christoph Holzhey

PhD Thesis, Columbia University, NYC, 2002

My dissertation explores the critical role of pleasure in aesthetics. While many aesthetic theories address the... more My dissertation explores the critical role of pleasure in aesthetics. While many aesthetic theories address the production of pleasure, I argue that they compromise their critical potential by assuming knowledge of the nature and hierarchy of different pleasures. German Classicism, for instance, links aesthetic pleasure to ideals of perfection, unity, and autonomy, whereas postmodern theories privilege diametrically opposed pleasures, delighting in destabilized, fluid identities. Within the model of aesthetics that I am proposing, these and other aesthetic possibilities share a common ground of paradoxical, undifferentiated sensations of pleasure and pain, which they organize in different ways into viable economies of pleasure. In this view, aesthetics involves both the partial sublimation and partial repression of paradoxical pleasures that I situate in the Lacanian register of the real and therefore call ‘real masochism.’ My model provides the basis for a double reading strategy aimed at exposing inadvertent tendencies of totalization: it allows for a distinction between different types of aesthetics in terms of their specific form of sublimation and makes the production of normative hierarchies – and of the structure of sexual difference as formulated by Lacan – intelligible as an effect of what I call ‘masophobia,’ that is, the (partial) repression of masochistic pleasures.
The first part of my dissertation motivates, develops, and exemplifies my model of aesthetics by negotiating between Lyotard and Bersani’s claims for the anti-totalizing effect of paradoxical pleasures, between contrary positions on masochism and S/M within feminist and queer studies, and between Butler’s and Zizek’s positions on the real and sexual difference. Furthermore, it extracts my notion of real masochism from Laplanche’s model of propping and seduction and reads Deleuze’s aesthetic distinction between sadism and masochism as an exemplary re-interpretation of sexual difference as aesthetic difference. The second part presents a case study of Hoffmann’s Kater Murr and its reception, develops further the notion of ‘masophobia,’ and shows how this late romantic novel points to the paradoxical ground of aesthetics and Bildung through parody, humor, and the non-hierarchical juxtaposition of different aesthetic possibilities.

The Pleasures of South Park

by Brian L. Ott

SOURCE CITATION: Ott, B. L. (2008). The pleasures of South Park (an experiment in media erotics). In J. A. Weinstock (Ed.), Taking South Park seriously (pp. 39-58). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.