The Pursuit of Pleasure

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology
Cover of the book The Pursuit of Pleasure by Lionel Tiger, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lionel Tiger ISBN: 9781351475655
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: July 12, 2017
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Lionel Tiger
ISBN: 9781351475655
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: July 12, 2017
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Pleasure is biologically desirable and good for physical and mental health. In The Pursuit of Pleasure, Lionel Tiger explores this aspect of human nature by focusing on the origins and forms of pleasure. Medical science has perfected a host of often astonishingly impressive methods for preventing, alleviating, or recovering from pain. Its opposite, pleasure, has not had such a well-funded and fully justified constituency. In fact, those committed to the understanding and pursuit of pleasure, are rarely accorded respect and a sense of significance. People have objected to the notion of pleasure for a variety of reasons. The most complex derive from religious convictions that the most morally admirable human life is marked by abstemiousness, suffering, even martyrdom. There is also a corresponding fear that people may pursue pleasure too avidly and with too strong a sense of entitlement, and the world's work will not get done. But just as there have been suspicions of the dangers of pleasure, there have also been its supporters who assert its vital and joyful centrality to human experience. The Pursuit of Pleasure favors an agnostic approach borrowed from natural science.

In lively, witty, and eminently readable prose, Tiger identifies major forms of pleasure and explores their variations, now and in the past. Pleasure, says Tiger, is not a luxury but an evolutionary entitlement that deserves to be taken seriously. As we acknowledge our need for enjoyment, we understand the need to establish balance in our lives-our need for the pursuit of pleasure.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Pleasure is biologically desirable and good for physical and mental health. In The Pursuit of Pleasure, Lionel Tiger explores this aspect of human nature by focusing on the origins and forms of pleasure. Medical science has perfected a host of often astonishingly impressive methods for preventing, alleviating, or recovering from pain. Its opposite, pleasure, has not had such a well-funded and fully justified constituency. In fact, those committed to the understanding and pursuit of pleasure, are rarely accorded respect and a sense of significance. People have objected to the notion of pleasure for a variety of reasons. The most complex derive from religious convictions that the most morally admirable human life is marked by abstemiousness, suffering, even martyrdom. There is also a corresponding fear that people may pursue pleasure too avidly and with too strong a sense of entitlement, and the world's work will not get done. But just as there have been suspicions of the dangers of pleasure, there have also been its supporters who assert its vital and joyful centrality to human experience. The Pursuit of Pleasure favors an agnostic approach borrowed from natural science.

In lively, witty, and eminently readable prose, Tiger identifies major forms of pleasure and explores their variations, now and in the past. Pleasure, says Tiger, is not a luxury but an evolutionary entitlement that deserves to be taken seriously. As we acknowledge our need for enjoyment, we understand the need to establish balance in our lives-our need for the pursuit of pleasure.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book A Sociological Approach to Acquired Brain Injury and Identity by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Rapid Climate Change by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book The Mediatization of Culture and Society by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book The English Capital Market by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book The Renaissance Ethics of Music by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Writing Out of All the Camps by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Centuries of Genocide by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Masculinity and Emotion in Early Modern English Literature by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Regulatory Reforms in Italy: A Case Study in Europeanisation by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Varieties of Economic Inequality by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Material Cultures of Slavery and Abolition in the British Caribbean by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Localizing Governance in India by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Building Customer-brand Relationships by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book The British Empire and Tibet 1900-1922 by Lionel Tiger
Cover of the book Religion of the People by Lionel Tiger
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy