People often confuse these terms: happiness with pleasure. The living styles of most individuals have been revolving around satisfaction from one pleasure to the other. However, they do not know that they will not find any kind of happiness within the “prison” of pleasure. Pleasure does not last long, it is temporary and short-lived (Vitrano & Cahn, 2018, p. 17). On the other hand, the pursuit of happiness is good since it is sustainable for a person’s lifetime. Since pleasure is momentary, one cannot get happiness by seeking pleasures.
There is a very big difference between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure may be described as the momentary feelings which come from external things such as making love, our stocks going up, and a good meal. Pleasure is as a result of our senses having positive experiences and good things happening around us ("Pleasure, Hedonism, and the Measurement of Happiness," n.d., p. 45). Experiences that are pleasurable may give us feelings of happiness; however, such feelings do not last long as they disappear once the external experiences and events are removed from us. To continue with pleasure, there is a need to keep on having these external experiences around us. This will involve more drugs, food, money, sex, to name but a few. Consequently, people end up being addicted to most of these pleasurable materials.
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However, happiness is a condition of inner fulfillment. It is not influenced by the satisfaction and desires of outward things. The happiness which is genuine may be affected by circumstances, but it does not fully depend on them ("Two Epicurus: Happiness Is Pleasure," 2017, p. 52). Instead, it gives an individual inner resource which will enable him/her to deal with such situations. As a result, a happy person will always approach every circumstance with a sober mind. One will not over-indulge in a circumstance or events that provide pleasure. Therefore, happiness is desirable and gives peace of mind. Unlike pleasure, happiness allows us to enjoy external events with some level of control.
References
Pleasure, Hedonism, and the Measurement of Happiness. (n.d.). A Brief History of Happiness , 41-74. doi:10.1002/9780470690888.ch3
Two Epicurus: Happiness Is Pleasure. (2017). Philosophies of Happiness , 42-54. doi:10.7312/lobe18410-004
Vitrano, C., & Cahn, S. M. (2018). Happiness as Pleasure. The Nature and Value of Happiness , 9-32. doi:10.4324/9780429496226-2
