The Official Website of Michael Corthell

by Michael Corthell There are, of course, many kinds of pleasure and pleasures in life. From the way we experience walking hand in hand along the beach with our children, to the completion of a work project or hobby, as well as the pure physical pleasure of conjugal relations. Pleasure can be viewed as just thoughts, feelings or actions that make us 'feel good'. For the purpose of this writing I am going to speak to hedonism and utilitarianism .  Both are similar belief/practice systems. Seeking pleasure as one's highest aim is the common theme in both, however. ''Pleasure and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends.'' —John Stuart Mill The simple definition of hedonism is self-serving pleasure for the sake of itself. Hedonists equate pleasure with utility . They believe that pleasure is the master of all humankind, and acts as the ultimate life goal. There is very little more to say about it except to say that people are fr

''The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure.'' ―  Sigmund Freud Marketing uses this 'reward myself for suffering' tendency in people very effectively in it's taglines: ''A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer and the best cold beer is_________!''  “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” ― W. Somerset Maugham, Books and You  

  “Kiss a lover, Dance a measure, Find your name And buried treasure. Face your life, It's pain, It's pleasure, Leave no path untaken.” ― Neil Gaiman I've found that when the pain of a toothache is over, remembering that pain becomes sort of a pleasure. What does that mean exactly? For one thing it means life is a contrasting experience. I also remember that the passage of time is affected by pleasure and pain: Albert Einstein’s secretary was overwhelmed with inquiries as to the meaning of “relativity” that the professor decided to help her out. He told her to answer these inquiries as follows: “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.” Time's true worth is reflected only in what we are doing as it is passing by.