PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from

See also:

• LAT

Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)  , a term used loosely in ordinary language as practically synonymous with " enjoyment." As such it is applied equally to what are known as the " higher " or " intellectual " pleasures, and to purely " sensual," " animal " or " lower " pleasures . The conditions under which a man is pleased are the subject both or psychological and of ethical investigation . In general it may be said that pleasure and pain follow respectively upon the success of the failure of some effort, mental or physical (see PSYCHOLOGY); they may also attend upon purely passive sensations, e.g. a warm sun, a heavy shower, or upon associations with previous states of mind (i.e. a man may enjoy a sensation which is intrinsically painful, if it has pleasant associations) . Recognition of the fact that mankind seeks pleasure and avoids pain has led some moralists to the conclusion that all human conduct is actuated by hedonic considerations: this is the direct antithesis to ethical theories which maintain an absolute criterion of right and wrong (see HEDONISM; ETHICS) . Aristotle took a middle view, holding that pleasure, though not the end of virtuous action yet necessarily follows upon it (E7re'yevbµevbv rl i-iXoc) .