Plato says “Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil”

According to Plato, our soul is not disciplined when we put the Appetite part of the soul in

charge instead of reason, and we end up making bad choices. Imagine a situation where you have

to decide whether to have another drink or not. If you let your appetite take control - in this

case your strong desire for the immediate pleasure of consuming alcohol - instead of reason - like

considering how you’ll feel in the morning - you might end up making a bad choice. According

to Plato, this happens when our soul isn't disciplined, and we prioritize short-term pleasure

over making sensible decisions for our well-being. But here's the important part: each part of our

soul is real and important. While it's true that wanting immediate pleasures can be harmful,

we can't just ignore those feelings either. One of the main definitions that Plato gives

to these mere pleasures are “deceivers” because they make us see things not as they really are

but in a way that may not be good for us. Think about when you see something flashy or attractive,

like a colorful book cover, or eye-catching YouTube ad. Sometimes, just because it looks nice,

you might suddenly want it without really thinking. Plato said these desires are like

optical illusions - things that look good but don't really mean anything. Our life is filled

with such illusions or trickery. Like wanting tasty food, drinks, or wanting to be powerful

or famous - these desires never seem to be satisfied. Living a life only focused on

immediate pleasures may feel good for a short time, but it can't bring lasting happiness.

Plato suggests a way to deal with the trickiness of quick pleasures, which he calls the "art of

measurement." This philosophical approach encourages us to think carefully about what

we really want. Instead of quickly going after things that make us happy for a little while,

Plato says we should measure our goals against what will make us happy in the long run. To

do this, we need to think about what we want and pick actions that will bring us lasting happiness.

As an example that will resonate with many of us just after the holiday season, there’s a good

chance if you’re anything like me, you’ve been rather over-indulging on the snacks and junk-food,

which is fun for a short time, but we know it’s bad for our health in the long-term. However,

denying momentary pleasure for the greater good of our overall health can be pretty hard to achieve,

despite our best intentions. Plato’s “Art of Measurement” would tell us that in order to break

that cycle we need to force ourselves to pause for a moment between desiring something and acting on

that desire. And in that pause, we should consider our long term goals, such as wanting to be healthy

and happy, and whether the action of eating that junk food will impact that. The truth is

if in that moment of consideration you realize that momentary pleasure will not only negatively

impact your physical health, but also result in a potentially longer period of guilt, as well,

then it doesn’t align with your larger goals, and probably isn’t worth doing in the first place.

But Plato's "Art of Measurement" isn't just for deciding what to eat—it can help make many parts

of your life better. For example, when you feel really strong emotions, instead of just reacting

right away, you can take a moment to think about how your reaction might affect your

relationships and how you feel overall. This is using the "art of measurement" for your emotional

responses. But it’s not just about negativity and restriction! When you spend time with your family,

you can use this idea to think about how to make that time more special. Instead of just

doing things without really thinking, you can measure if the time you spend with your family

is making your relationships stronger. The more you practice the "art of measurement,"

the better you become at making thoughtful and wise decisions in various aspects of life.