Term Papers on The Pleasure Principle

Term Paper Title	The Pleasure Principle
# of Words	1454
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.82

The Pleasure Principle

   The Pleasure Principle


     The Oxford Dictionary defines pleasure.  It is a feeling of satisfaction or joy.  It
is enjoyment.  It is a source of pleasure or gratification.  It is formally a persons will or
desire.  Finally they define it as sensual gratification.  Now if we put these all together
in one sentence, pleasure is something that brings an overall feeling of satisfaction and
gratification while fulfilling desires.  If that doesn’t sound good, what does?  We have
already determined that people naturally are drawn to altered states of consciousness.
Its a fact that we are drawn to that which feels altered.  It starts at a young age and
hypothetically we realize the world of drugs and their ability to enhance normality by
young adulthood.  When we add in the pleasure principle to that already sought out
feeling, you get something that feels so amazing, and is also potentially addictive.
     It is important to acknowledge the overpowering seductiveness and appeal of
drugs. Because some drugs directly affect the way that the brain works and operates,
the ecstasy that results can be overwhelming.  This is exactly where society comes into
play.  If someone can only feel that sort of pleasure from the high of heroin or that
calmness from a cigarette, why would they want to stop?  What would their alternative
be?  It would be the pain of withdrawal and the numbness that they felt before they
discovered the high.  I can only liken my drug theory to a circle, because in reality
there is no one who is really sober.  There are things that make us all feel better.  It can
range from chocolate to caffeine to crack, but whether it be hard or soft, legal or illicit,
a drug is something that makes us feel something other than “normal”.  (Not that there
is even a set normality.)  The circle theory is that even if you are a heroin addict and
get sober, the likeliness of you finding something else that makes you feel better than
normal is high.  It might not be heroin again, but chances are it will be something.  It
all comes back to the inherent human nature to find a plane of reality other than this
one.
     We remember what feels good to us.  It is something that our brain does for us.
Because sex feels good, there is a natural desire to participate.  We remember which
foods we like best and how they make us feel when we eat them.  It is a system in
which we selectively remember what we like, how it made us feel, and causes the
desire to do it again.  Drugs go hand in hand with this theory.  Things that are
pleasurable to people are held on to dearly.  No one wants to miss something that feels
good, or makes them feel better than just normal.  If I could drink a glass of water and
feel pleasurably numb and introspective, I would, instead of smoking pot.  The only
thing about that is, I can’t.  So when I want to really relax, I do what I remember
relaxes me, and that is marijuana.  Its the same anywhere you go.  Introspective people
who want to be outgoing in social settings drink alcohol and call it “liquid courage”.
They enjoy the feeling of being a little looser and able to talk to people that they might
not have otherwise.  I could go on for days about this, but it all would come back to
the same thing.  People naturally seek out that which makes them happy, and
happiness is often confused with pleasure.
     There are those who still feel that drugs are causing the demise of our society
and that if we could just get everyone off drugs then the world would be peaceful and
happy.  What they don’t understand is that the drug problem is social.  It is easy to
scapegoat drugs instead of looking at the internal workings of the actual problem.  I
found some interesting things on the Internet.  In this quote a Reverend talks about
Marijuana:
     “For some, drugs are simply easier to get than alcohol. (I (Rachel) and going to interject
with this, when did alcohol stop being a drug?) Some attempt to justify their actions by claiming
that marijuana, for exam...

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