![Cultish delusions [1213x1351 - 182KB]](https://pic8.co/sh/qHDfBL.jpg){kind=link}
Pleasure likewise pertains to the Good, since pleasure is a good.
But pleasure is not the only Good, and so any pleasure that is pursued contrary to a greater good is sinful, and any pleasure not contrary to a greater good is licit.
Sexual pleasure is a good, simply; but defiance of the right order of wedlock is a privation of a greater good than the pleasure itself is good, which is why sex out of wedlock is not licit.
So if I ask about opium, you'll contrive a reason why that's wrong. But if I ask about enjoying an apple, you'll contrive a reason why that's okay. So then if I try to blend the apple and opium examples, you'll say cut down the evil tree rather than fix it with science.
The pleasure of opium is out-balanced by the damage to the body, mind, and spirit of the user, as well as the damage to their relations with others - as any ex-opium addict will readily confess.
The of the apple is not itself outbalanced by any privation of a greater good; however, like with all goods, the virtue of temperance must be exercised. A deficiency of apples (or like foods) may lead to scurvy; an excess may cause other health issues like diabetes or low pH levels or sensitive teeth. But in itself the good of eating an apple balances well with other goods.
I wanted to say something similar.
The pleasure derived from the apple seems to strike some kind of balance which is not only commensurate with the good of the apple (therefore not a tremendous ecstatic experience), but it also TIES the pleasure to something which increases the overall good of the consumer, i.e. it keeps the body flourishing. The pleasure is not the sole end.
The good of opium can only be construed in two ways:
- Escape from existing pain.
It is either the case that this is pain which opium is being used to medicate, as in the case of treatment. Or, a person is numbing a non-disabling pain as a means of psychological escape.
- Pursuit of super-physiological levels of pleasure.
In the first case, there is only one clearly good use of opium.
In the second, the pleasure is pursued as its own end and, by way of minimizing and desensitizing the pleasure experience of all other goods, it will decrease the overall good of the consumer across time.
The negative correlates of opium, Y, are not necessarily associated with X.
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