Plato

[hardblue]

“We must realize that in each one of us there are two ruling and impelling principles whose guidance we follow, a desire for pleasure, which is innate, and an acquired conviction which causes us to aim at excellence.”-- Plato, “Phaedrus

Comments

[pigshitpoet]

desire and pleasure, two ends of the same form...

let us take pleasure in our desire, yes if we ever achieve that pleasure it may be fleeting, to say the least

hmm

[pigshitpoet]

with kahlil gibran it was passion and reason

this can be attributed to right/ left brain functioning or heart and mind, i would say that desire and pleasure are in the domain of passion, so what was plato speaking of, the pursuit of happiness?

RE: hmm

[hardblue]

Gibran? That was Elvis's favorite spiritual/philosophical thinker, yes?

I think Plato was speaking of achieving the good life, so that your soul could attain its wings. Which wasn't so pleasurable as I think we would have it. When it came to sex, for instance, he was rather like a medieval Christian: abstinence was the greater good and the rightful pursuit. If you gave in to the pleasure of the flesh, you would be condemned to live on a lower plane for at least another lifetime. For him, I think, the pursuit of 'happiness' was the pursuit of wisdom.

RE: hmm

[pigshitpoet]

i think i prefer hedonism

[davesmusictank]

Desire and pleasure are my my mantras.

[hardblue]

Hey, you only live once. I never heard anyone regret that they had too much love and sex in their life.

[maadmike]

I heard that people had too much sex and attended the doctors... the love is the meaning of existence.

[maadmike]

hello again, if you remember me. as I can see, you are posting the interesting phrases as ussual. for me this one is very difficult to comprehend, as ussual... again. the pleasure is kind of opposite to the conviction. it's like a sky and core of a planet, the things have something in common but deffer strongly anyway.
How are you doing, after all?

[hardblue]

Hello, it's nice to see you back after all this time. I'm the same, just getting older.

As for the quote, I am thinking that when we are young, then 'pleasure' and the 'pursuit of excellence' are more opposite to each other. However, if we continue to seek wisdom and try to improve our lives and grow, then the two should become more similar. For instance, when we are teenagers, we tend to think that sex and love are the same thing, but when we get old, we come to appreciate that love is a much richer and deeper idea than that.

[maadmike]

"after all this time."

nice to see you and all this time was just a fairy tale to me, just a dream...

"I'm the same, just getting older."
How is your cat or cars?

[hardblue]

Cats are cats. What they do in the dark night under the moonlight is something only they know.