My past blog posts have just me getting accustom to the blog format that WordPress presents and don’t really have me covering a specific topic of conversation. So, in this article, I am giving myself a topic and going to discuss it in length, giving my best shot at covering topics that are on my mind. The topic I want to discuss in this article is pleasure. I will be going over what pleasure is, the facets of it, why it plagues me and some sort of conclusion that sums up my viewpoint on the topic. This is my first attempt at covering a topic such as this, so if you decide to comment on it, please present kindness, empathy, and constructive feedback if applicable.

Pleasure, as defined by Google, means “a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment”. As this definition stands, there isn’t any connotation to the word, and is broad enough to be applicable to any situation that calls for the word. However, another definition is presented by Google, stating that as a verb, it means to “give sexual enjoyment or satisfaction to”. When I think of the word pleasure, my brain immediately connects it to sex. After all, seeking sexual pleasure is one of the many humanistic practices we participate in. However, if we take the first definition of pleasure into more consideration, we can understand that pleasure can be derived from anything, sexual or not. So, what other forms of pleasure are there? Is there a morality to be considered when seeking pleasure-inducing activities, or should pleasure be as common and easy to come by as butter? When I find pleasure in eating butter, is that something I should not continue to do on a normal basis? Should the factor of how one derives their pleasure be limited by any means?

When researching the different forms of pleasure, one would almost feel overwhelmed by the different perspectives on the subject. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham states there are fourteen types of pleasure, while psychologist Karl Duncker describes only three. I could continue on by listing every single idea on the subject from other’s viewpoints, but since this is my article, I am going to take the most literal approach and think of how one might get to that point from anywhere. If we think of it as Google defines, pleasure can the outcome to any activity. One might feel pleasure in winning a board game match, while another might have been feeling pleasure the entire time just by playing. Some might get pleasure by losing, even if that doesn’t make much sense to most of us. If anyone thinks that everyone gets to a point of pleasure the same way, that is, in my opinion, incorrect. Humanity is vast, with so many people having their own sense of perspective of the world that they live in. How I get to a sense of pleasure could be vastly different than how someone else could get to that same sensation. Biology has a factor in certain kinds of pleasures, and though they might be commonplace, not everyone is the same. I truly believe that people need to explore themselves without outside persuasion and find what pleasure means to them. What we would find if all humanity came together after this self exploration is that the forms of pleasure would be nearly as quantifiable as the number of people on this planet.

The idea of pleasure be immoral at it’s purest form is not a, dare I say, pleasurable way to view the world. Pleasure is a sense of happiness and enjoyment, and every human deserves to feel this way. However, if everyone participated in what gives them pleasure all the time, this could arise complications. For instance, letting a serial killer go around and slaughter people for their own personal pleasure is obviously seen as criminal and even mentally unstable. This can be said for pretty much any crime that is committed for pleasure. But, there are some who advocate for a more pleasurable lifestyle at the expense of others and it not be criminal whatsoever. So, where is the line? As I mentioned earlier, each person defines what brings them the most pleasure and, to add on to this statement, are responsible for their own pleasure regardless of dynamics.

So, hypothetically speaking, if every human did the work necessary to discover what brought them the most pleasure, how do we all determine what is acceptable and not acceptable? To me, that is an easy question to answer with a series of follow up questions; does your sense of pleasure involve other sane individuals, would other sane individuals also derive pleasure from your pleasure-induced activity, is everyone safe and is everyone consenting to the activity? Lets look back at that serial killer I mentioned. Do you think the victims involved would get a sense of pleasure from being killed by this individual? I would say not. There is an extreme situation that occurred before involving a cannibal who ate a victim who consented to being eaten, but one could evaluate the mental health of both of these individuals and determine that sanity was not present nor was safety. The topic of sanity might be something I’ll cover in the future, but overall, sanity is a factor when considering pleasure for an individual. However, if everyone is sane, everyone derives pleasure, and everyone agrees to the pleasure activity, then nothing should stop these individuals from pursuing the pleasure they seek. If someone insane wants to pursue pleasure, they might want to refrain from activities that involve others unless it can be determined by sane individuals that everyone will remain safe.

So, if everything as I stated above is taken into consideration when it comes to sexual pleasure specifically, where is the harm in pursuing it? Some people would respond with something along the lines of “sex creates life, so it shouldn’t be pursued for the act itself”. Christians would quote the Bible, using Corinthians 6:18 or even Matthew 5:28, as if looking as someone you find attractive is inherently wrong. There are many other bible verses that mention “sexually immorality”, but it’s clear they believe sex should be limited to those who are in a marriage. Looking at sex from the angle of procreation, this honestly makes sense. Financially speaking, it would be unwise to create a kid in a dynamic that couldn’t take advantages of the tax benefits marriage presents. However, we are in a point of technological advancement that makes this idea, from my perspective, barbaric. Contraceptives, safe sex practices, procedures and safe abortions exist in todays society, which are and should be utilized when performing sex in an environment when having a kid isn’t one’s prerogative. Of course, there is sex in the LGBTQ+ community as well, and I don’t think fucking a guy in the ass will produce a kid. Christians might want to rush to Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13, but as one might assume based on what I mentioned previously, these ideas are barbaric. Any shame that is instilled into anyone regarding sex of any form is more corrupt then the acts themselves, in my opinion. There is as much harm in finding pleasure in sex as there is in finding pleasure in eating a steak with someone, meaning there isn’t any harm whatsoever.

Life is liminal within us and infinite outside of oneself. By understanding ourselves on a deeper level to truly find out what brings us pleasure, sexually and non-sexually, we can move into a realm of true empathy to all who exist and finding ways for everyone to exist as they are in this world. But killers do deserve to die. And if you say “Abortions kills lives”, do your research for real. At the end of it all, pleasure is not and should never be an issue in an of itself. What one considers to be acts of pleasure should be put into perspective, but everyone deserves pleasure. Because pleasure is happiness. Lets all stay happy, people.