Why Too Much Pleasure Can Weaken Your Character and Enslave You to Your Desires + 6 Exercises to Master Them.
Do Stoics feel pleasure? It's a question that is on the minds of many people. After all, it's nice and comfortable to indulge in pleasure. So where's the problem? And how can one be happy without seeking and enjoying pleasure? Let's find out whether Stoics can feel pleasure without compromising their beliefs.
TL;DR
As Stoics are humans, they certainly experience pleasure (as long as one is not the Stoic sage). But they believe that it is not needed for happiness but comes with the danger of self-enslavement to the desire of needing pleasure. In Stoicism, only virtue is required for a flourishing life, so while Stoics might experience pleasure, they know the potential dangers of seeking it too much. As a consequence, Stoic practitioners work to master them.
What is pleasure?
Pleasure is characterized by a feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction. This can be brought about by various stimuli such as food, sex, dancing, or engaging in all activities promoting those feelings. Pleasure is related to happiness, but indeed, they are not the same.
What is pleasure in Stoicism?
"When pleasures have corrupted both the body and the mind, nothing seems endurable, not indeed because it is hard, but because he who has to bear it is soft." Seneca, On Anger, 2.25
However, for Stoics, pleasure is not seen as the ultimate goal in life. Instead, they believe the path to eudaimonia and long-lasting happiness comes from living a virtuous life. On the other hand, seeking pleasure can lead to a life of excess and indulgence, which ultimately detracts from one's overall well-being.
So while practitioners of Stoicism may experience pleasure (as long as they are not yet a Stoic sage), it is not their primary focus or goal in life.
Pleasure: A Dark Path to Self-Enslavement
"It belongs to a wise man to resist pleasure; and to a fool to be enslaved by it." Epictetus, Fragments 106
Experiencing too much pleasure can lead to a life ruled by it. Stoicism warns of the great danger that one may become dependent on the gratification and satisfaction of indulging in it. Especially the Stoic belief that only virtue (which comes from within) is needed for happiness contradicts a too-heavy priority on pleasure. Ultimately, the Stoic way to genuinely experience and enjoy pleasure is the pleasure that comes from living in harmony with human nature, meaning behaving virtuously.
"He who loves fame considers another man's activity to be his own good, and he who loves pleasure, his own sensations. But he who has understanding considers his own acts to be his own good." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.51
The understanding of what is good, bad, and indifferent has a major role in the Stoic philosophy and why pleasure is secondary. Pleasure corrupts the mind so that people forget what's good and bad, leading them down a dark path and giving their freedom and happiness in the hands of random chance instead of their rational minds.
"While all excesses are hurtful, excess of comfort is the most hurtful of all; it affects the brain; it leads men's minds into vain imaginings; it spreads a thick cloud over the boundaries of truth and falsehood." Seneca, Of Providence 4
Just think about people who only drink and have parties to experience happiness. As soon as they can't drink, they get grumpy. They become dependent on drinking to experience joy when going out with friends. I'm not talking about addicts; I'm talking about the average folks out there, the party people that go out each weekend for clubbing and drinking. Have you ever been in a situation where you told such friends you don't drink today? The reaction was probably a lack of understanding as they believed you wouldn't have enjoyed doing so. Therefore they tried to convince and persuade you that it's way better to drink and skip this crazy idea of not drinking. Does that sound familiar?
Or what about the pleasure of driving a car. That's very luxurious, isn't it? No other (sometimes smelly) people, incredible flexibility, no tickets to purchase, and no fixed departure time, so there is no risk of missing the train. But when the car gets broken, hell, the world is ending. Just the idea of having to take public transport makes one tremble.
These two examples explain what Stoics mean when they say that pleasure is not essential for happiness. Rather it takes away our freedom by enslaving us to pleasurable activity.
Beware of too much pleasure; it makes you weak.
6 Exercises To Unshackling Yourself From Pleasure
Stoic practitioners learn to deal better with their pleasures, to truly experience happiness. Below you'll find exercises that help you strengthen your character against the negative side effects of pleasure.
- Write down your pleasures: First, begin by brainstorming the pleasures that of often indulge in, that you love, or that simply often occur in your daily life. Write them down. Having them visible in front of you makes it easier to remember because you have deliberately dealt with them.
- Write down an alternative: What else could you do instead of giving in to your pleasure? Consider different options and plan how you bring them to action? Take the train once a week, eat no sweets for a month, or drink no alcohol for three months. Whatever it is, make it as concrete as possible.
- Practice Stoic mindfulness: Stoic mindfulness exercises will help you to become aware of your pleasure when they arise. The Stoic Buddy app has its own learning path for that, as it is the foundation of Stoic practices. You can start with observing your thoughts, meditation, or visualizing an object.
- Write a Stoic mantra: Stoic mantras are your friend to easily remember your Stoic principles. There are no rules, but you should ensure your mantra is easy to remember. That's all. You can say it in the morning or when you notice that you're currently indulging in one of your pleasures.
- Prepare for the day: Every day, look at your pleasure list and choose which one you'd like to unshackle today. Say your Stoic mantra or imagine yourself, at the end of the day, successfully conquered your pleasure.
- Reflect on your day: How successful have you been? What went wrong, what was good, and where can you improve?
Ta-da, you are practicing the Stoic virtue of temperance.
"Self-control is healthier and actually leads to more enjoyment than self-indulgence, particularly with regard to the most common sources of pleasure in daily life." Donald Robertson, Stoicism and the Art of Happiness
The ultimate key is finding balance and moderating our behavior in order to maintain control over our pleasure. Of course, you can still enjoy some of your pleasures, but remember to watch it to avoid compromising your Stoic principles. The further you are in your Stoic practice, the more likely it will become that you don't want too much pleasure anymore, as you have enough experience to know that living virtuously brings more than enough.
