"Without some measure of consideration, we are swept up in a vacuous and unintentional hedonism, buffeted this way or that by our drives to avoid pain and seek out fleeting pleasures devoid of lasting fulfillment. " This, bingo. An old music teacher of mine -- God rest his soul -- made very clear distinctions between pleasure, happiness, and joy. He said the pleasure is mindless, cheap, and not worth pursuing; happiness is harder but attainable with the right mindset and good intentions, while joy is supreme and requires hardwork and sacrifice and is the most worthy of human experiences. Predictably, he lamented that hedonism was destroying our capacity to endure and strive to finally find joy. What you said reminded me of his little talk :)
Thanks for sharing this lovely anecdote. Is this the same teacher you wrote about previously? I find it quite remarkable the power of making these semantic distinctions. What occurs to me as the throughline among these distinctions among pleasure, happiness and joy is the element of time. I'm imagining some kind of graph where x=time and y=emotional valence.
One possible interpretation: pleasure is simply immediate gratification without regard for future consequences. Pleasure now... (pain later). Parenthetical because it's either consciously or unconsciously ignored, though perhaps the willful ignorance is more tragic. A classic linear equation with a commensurate dip. The steeper the slope, then either the steeper the dip or product of pain and time.
The distinction between happiness and joy seems somewhat trickier.
Happiness is some pain now for future pleasure. Classic delayed gratification - a curve that begins with a negative slope then inflects and over time matches or exceeds the magnitude in positive affect.
Perhaps joy then, as you've described it, is the willing sacrifice of some pleasure now, to forego it for an even greater pleasure. Or letting go of the attachment to pleasure or aversion to displeasure altogether.
Ah yes it's the same teacher! I love that you raised some really fascinating dimensions. My personal understanding is that happiness is that happiness can be self-contained, while joy is a striving towards something higher and beyond ourselves and be part of that higher thing. I think the letting go of attachment is also a great way to put it!
"It seems to me deplorable that so many go through the motions of daily life without zest or verve." Me too!! And can't wait for this. ". . . in the next edition I will argue that life is fundamentally worthwhile. Heaven and hell are here, not elsewhere."
Thanks for your indefatigable enthusiasm and support Rick. It certainly means a lot and a little goes a long way.
I was reflecting on some developments in psychology I overlooked (somatics and polyvagal theory) including in this piece but I suppose they will fit in nicely with the topic I've published myself into a corner. 😅
"Without some measure of consideration, we are swept up in a vacuous and unintentional hedonism, buffeted this way or that by our drives to avoid pain and seek out fleeting pleasures devoid of lasting fulfillment. " This, bingo. An old music teacher of mine -- God rest his soul -- made very clear distinctions between pleasure, happiness, and joy. He said the pleasure is mindless, cheap, and not worth pursuing; happiness is harder but attainable with the right mindset and good intentions, while joy is supreme and requires hardwork and sacrifice and is the most worthy of human experiences. Predictably, he lamented that hedonism was destroying our capacity to endure and strive to finally find joy. What you said reminded me of his little talk :)
Thanks for sharing this lovely anecdote. Is this the same teacher you wrote about previously? I find it quite remarkable the power of making these semantic distinctions. What occurs to me as the throughline among these distinctions among pleasure, happiness and joy is the element of time. I'm imagining some kind of graph where x=time and y=emotional valence.
One possible interpretation: pleasure is simply immediate gratification without regard for future consequences. Pleasure now... (pain later). Parenthetical because it's either consciously or unconsciously ignored, though perhaps the willful ignorance is more tragic. A classic linear equation with a commensurate dip. The steeper the slope, then either the steeper the dip or product of pain and time.
The distinction between happiness and joy seems somewhat trickier.
Happiness is some pain now for future pleasure. Classic delayed gratification - a curve that begins with a negative slope then inflects and over time matches or exceeds the magnitude in positive affect.
Perhaps joy then, as you've described it, is the willing sacrifice of some pleasure now, to forego it for an even greater pleasure. Or letting go of the attachment to pleasure or aversion to displeasure altogether.
Ah yes it's the same teacher! I love that you raised some really fascinating dimensions. My personal understanding is that happiness is that happiness can be self-contained, while joy is a striving towards something higher and beyond ourselves and be part of that higher thing. I think the letting go of attachment is also a great way to put it!
"It seems to me deplorable that so many go through the motions of daily life without zest or verve." Me too!! And can't wait for this. ". . . in the next edition I will argue that life is fundamentally worthwhile. Heaven and hell are here, not elsewhere."
Thanks for your indefatigable enthusiasm and support Rick. It certainly means a lot and a little goes a long way.
I was reflecting on some developments in psychology I overlooked (somatics and polyvagal theory) including in this piece but I suppose they will fit in nicely with the topic I've published myself into a corner. 😅
Your undertaking seems massive in scope, and you've got a Ken Wilber like embrace of all these systems. I look forward to how you weave them together.