On pleasure 3

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What is pleasure?”

“Pleasure is something you feel.

You eat something sweet, you feel pleasure.

Interestingly, if not eating sweets is something you value, refraining from eating sweets can also bring pleasure.

In the first case, you find the taste pleasurable.
In the second case, you find living in integrity with a value pleasurable.

Pleasure is something you can develop.

The more you learn about something and the better you get at doing something, the more pleasurable it becomes.”

“So you develop pleasures by developing skills.”

“Yes.

You can develop your sense of taste by learning to distinguish subtle nuances.
You can develop your values by gaining clarity on and practicing them.”

“Interesting. I hadn’t thought of values as skills.”

“Thinking of them as skills emphasizes the practicing aspect.

Pleasure is something you can create.

You create pleasure through savoring, which is a combination of paying attention and meaning.”

“What is the difference between developing your sense of taste and savoring?”

“Developing your sense of taste is a skill. Savoring is a meta-skill.

The former applies to a certain subset of experiences. The latter applies to any experience.”

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