The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic, 2016a

85 The Third Proof: True Pleasures
See 583b-587b. “Observe then, that the other pleasures – apart from that of the
knowledgeable person – are neither entirely true nor pure.” “But what exactly do
you mean?” asks Glaucon. “I will find out, if you answer the questions while I ask
them.” In working out his thoughts, Socrates first makes a distinction between
enjoyment and relief from pain. Much of what people consider pleasant – eating
when famished, scratching an itch, emptying an especially full bladder – is really
just pain relief. One is moving from a state of irritation to a state of relative calm
in the soul. In contrast, consider walking past a lilac bush in bloom, or conversing
with a good friend after dinner over a crème caramel and a cup of dark coffee.
Socrates calls pleasures such as these “pure” because they don’t require
discomfort in order to be experienced. Is it his view, then, that pure pleasures are
always greater than impure pleasures? Would he say, for instance, that the
pleasure of basking in the sun after a satisfying meal is greater than that of
philosophizing in pursuit of wisdom (a pleasure of anticipation, hence, an impure
pleasure)? No, for some pleasures are “truer” than others, and the truer a pleasure
is, the greater it is. Socrates explains that the more we are “filled with what is
appropriate to our nature,” the truer is the pleasure we feel. And we are “filled”
more by things which “are” more, “which partake more of pure being.” Forms
“are” more than the particular things we encounter through our senses. They are
eternal and unchanging and the basis for understanding the nature of reality.
Knowledge of the forms therefore fills us more than anything else can, and so,
causes in us the truest of pleasures. This is why a pleasure such as anticipating
knowledge of the form of the good is greater than a pleasure such as basking in the
sun after a satisfying meal. Although the pleasure of basking in the sun is purer,
philosophizing in anticipation of wisdom is truer. (As Mill puts it, “better to be
Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”) Socrates concludes that souls ruled by
the rational part are doubly blessed. As lovers of wisdom, they enjoy the truest of
pleasures. But also, because the rational part understands the relative worth of
pleasures, the spirited and appetitive parts are able to attain under its guidance the
truest pleasures possible for them. The appetitive part may think it wants a