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Dichotomy of Pleasure

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Dichotomy of Pleasure

Prefer long term pleasures over short.

30 Phil, Chapter 11, Epicurus, Touchstone 31: Dichotomy of Pleasure.

Epicurus defined two types of pleasure: short-term and long-term. Too frequently people put short term pleasures over long-term ones causing deeper harm than warranted.
A short-term pleasure is kinetic as in the active enjoyment of fulfilling a desire, such as eating a delicious meal or engaging in a pleasurable activity. Longer or deeper pleasures are katastematic and include the relief of quenching one’s thirst or the contentment of a good night’s sleep. Put simply, for each pair of kinetic-katastematic pleasures, Epicurus wants you to prioritize the katastematic pleasure to live a better life.

These short pieces do the quiet work of verification, ensuring that ideas remain grounded in reliable scholarship rather than repetition or assumption.
The system favors intellectual continuity over novelty, and understanding over reaction.
The end.
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