Pleasure and quality of life - David M. Warburton

Pleasure is a personal experience, but it is also a common experience and is part of the emotional vocabulary of all cultures. All of us have opinions and clear moral views about the place of pleasure in a well–lived life, what form it should take, and with what enthusiasm it should be sought. In this book the contributors emphasize the positive contribution of pleasure to the quality of everyday life. Their research fields span the range from basic neurochemistry of behaviour, psychoimmunology, oncology, psycho–endocrinology, psychopharmacology, psychology, sociology, community medicine, politics, law and philosophy. Considerable unanimity of opinion is derived from these disparate approaches. There is unanimous support for the view that pleasure is important for physical and mental health. It strengthens the immune system and is an antidote to stressors. However, it is also emphasized that pleasure is to be enjoyed in its own right as part of a well–balanced life. There is unanimous rejection of the homogenizing of pleasures and the view that there is only one way to live your life. Of course, recognizing and understanding people’s pleasures does not mean approving or condoning them. But it does indicate that there is respect for personal choice and the autonomy of the individual to enjoy their pleasures provided that they are not harming others.