The hypothesis that “pursuing comfort and pleasure will lead to the best life” attempts to describe a path to “the best life.” The quote however is unsound because actual pursuits of comfort and pleasure raise problems in our world today. To begin understanding this quotation we must have an idea of what the best possible life is. This idea turns out to be very troubling because measuring the value of a life is incredibly controversial and gray. The value of life depends upon the purpose of life itself, and the purpose of life is ambiguous. So an objective “best life” seems indeterminable without an accurate solution to the meaning of life. Since it seems impossible to get an objective idea of what the best possible life is like, we must try
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The traditional view of pain is one of negativity. Pain normally is associated with a worse quality of life; as pain increases the quality of life decreases, which makes this hypothesis seem likely. However, pain can be good. Pain is sometimes necessary for progress, often any type of change causes a lose of comfort, and progression amounts from long term change. “Who can separate the pains and pleasures of the mind from the pains and pleasures of the body? . . . ‘mind and body,’ are best conceived by us as differences of degree passing into differences of kind, and at one time and under one aspect acting in harmony and then again opposed.” Here Plato makes an important distinction. Plato believes pain and pleasure of the mind and body are on the same scale of degree. On this scale the mind and body’s degree of pain or pleasure is both in harmony and opposition at the same time. Although being in the state of harmony and opposition at the same instant appears paradoxical, it is actually fundamental for many religions. Taoism is based upon the Yin and Yang, which symbolizes the harmonious nature of Good and Evil, while others have their own concepts of Good and Evil with some sort of harmony between the two. If pain and pleasure can correlate directly with good and evil it seems logical to conclude that pleasure and pain are connected and both are necessary to keep balance in our
The traditional view of pain is one of negativity. Pain normally is associated with a worse quality of life; as pain increases the quality of life decreases, which makes this hypothesis seem likely. However, pain can be good. Pain is sometimes necessary for progress, often any type of change causes a lose of comfort, and progression amounts from long term change. “Who can separate the pains and pleasures of the mind from the pains and pleasures of the body? . . . ‘mind and body,’ are best conceived by us as differences of degree passing into differences of kind, and at one time and under one aspect acting in harmony and then again opposed.” Here Plato makes an important distinction. Plato believes pain and pleasure of the mind and body are on the same scale of degree. On this scale the mind and body’s degree of pain or pleasure is both in harmony and opposition at the same time. Although being in the state of harmony and opposition at the same instant appears paradoxical, it is actually fundamental for many religions. Taoism is based upon the Yin and Yang, which symbolizes the harmonious nature of Good and Evil, while others have their own concepts of Good and Evil with some sort of harmony between the two. If pain and pleasure can correlate directly with good and evil it seems logical to conclude that pleasure and pain are connected and both are necessary to keep balance in our