The Triangle of Pleasure

Here I am again with my usual preamble about where I am: Coffee Bean, Nu Empire, Subang. It's one of my regular places to read and ruminate on the past week, which has been rather quiet. A quiet, productive week always makes me happy. 

I understand that when one doesn't have a regular job, it is difficult to stay disciplined and productive. One does not need to rush to the office or appear online on Microsoft Teams at nine sharp. No stand-up meetings where you have to report on your previous day's progress or impossible project deadlines. The natural tendency for us is to relax, doomscroll on the phone, and while away the time. 

I have nothing against that, if idleness is pleasurable for you. I too pursue pleasure; I too am hedonistic in my goals. But my pleasure comes from three sources: creating, learning and appreciating. These three verbs form three points in my so-called Triangle of Pleasure.  

Enjoying the good things in life is the most obvious thing that people associate with pleasure. If you have lots of money, you could own lots of material things, live in comfort and travel anywhere in the world. You savour all the pleasures of the senses and body. And your ego gets stroked by praise, envy and admiration from others.

Yes, I 'enjoy' these pleasures too. But I don't need too much of them. Over-indulgence would inevitably lead to pain. The pleasures of the senses are ephemeral; one inevitably gets bored with them. The pleasure that feels out of this world today soon becomes normalised;  you end up needing more and more of it. This leads to dependency--in other words, attachment, which ultimately leads to pain. I've written a lot about this subject here on my blog.

In The Music of Eudaimonia and The Dance of Daemons, I wrote that Aristotle views the highest human good as a state called 'eudaimonia', -- imperfectly translated as 'happiness' or 'well-being'. I would prefer the literal translation from its root words: 'eu' (good) and 'daimon' (spirits). Interestingly, Aristotle defines the eudaimonic life as one of 'virtuous activity in accordance with reason'. 

My 'triangle of pleasure' is my personal definition of 'virtuous activity'. To live is to create. Creating doesn't mean one has to be an artist or inventor. We live in an age where anyone with a smartphone posting videos to TikTok calls himself a 'content creator'. But most of the time, such so -called acts of 'creation' are merely acts of signalling ('look how rich and happy I am') and gossiping ('see how bad other people are'). 

Real acts of creation always seek to synthesise something new: a fresh viewpoint, a novel invention, a new application or a realisation of potential. I would define a parent as a creator too. As a parent, you help to build a family. Families serve as the building blocks of society. A good parent brings up children who will define our future. Being a parent involves facing many challenges, as in any serious work of creation. That is where the second activity in my triangle—learning—comes into play.

To create is a process of continuous learning. Every work of art or creation is the best we could do, given the resources and circumstances. When we assess the final outcome, there will definitely be shortcomings, and this is where the opportunity to learn comes in. How could we do better? In the act of creation, knowledge arises. And knowledge itself prompts the next cycle of creation.

Isn't this a lot of hard work then? Where is the pleasure in that? Well, it is where the act of appreciation—the third corner of my triangle—that brings forth the fullness of pleasure, which I now equate to Aristotle's eudaimonia. Appreciation means gratitude for being able to create. Whatever the outcome of creation is, we still accept it without regret. If one has been true in one's pursuit, every act of creation is honest work where one has taken on the pain and challenge. It is pleasurable because one has already paid its price in pain.

Every blog article I write is an act of creation and appreciation. It feels pleasurable to reach the final paragraph, ready to click the 'Publish' button. Having laboured through the preceding paragraphs, I have learned more about myself and Aristotle's eudaimonia. And I have now completed the triangle of pleasure for this week.