What is pleasure?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Then why do people seek out pleasurable experiences? To experience pleasure. Duh.

Boru

Yes but the pleasurable experience is good in itself, intrinsically. It's not like you experience the pleasurable experience and then that pleasurable experience leads to pleasure. The pleasurable experience *is* the pleasure. Hence why it's intrinsically good.

Think of tasting chocolate: the sweetness isn’t something that comes after you eat it — the sweetness is the experience of eating chocolate itself. Similarly, the goodness of a pleasurable experience just is the pleasure you feel while having it.

But if you seek out experiences that give you pleasure - even if that pleasure is concurrent with the experience - you’re doing it for that reason. It may be an instant reward, but your motivation in doing so is what makes it instrumental.

Boru