Saw this article on today Straits Times; Mind your body

C.S Lewis: Likings & Loves

The philosopher, theologian & writer, C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), author of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, felt e same way. In his 1960 book, The Four Loves, he devotes an entire chapter to: Likings & Loves For the Sub-human.

According to him, when we say we like/love chocolate or country walks, we mean that we take pleasure in them. Now, pleasures can be divided into two groups: those that are preceded by desire, and those that are not.

A glass of water is an example of the first type. When you are thirsty, a glass of water is a very great pleasure. But, as Lewis points out, no one ever pours himself a glass of water "just for e fun of e thing".

An example of a pleasure not preceded by desire would be e fragrance of flowers meeting you unexpectedly on your morning walk.

"You were in want of nothing, completely contended before it," writes Lewis. " The pleasure, which may be very great, is an unsolicited, super-added gift."

Lewis labels these contrasting types of pleasure: need pleasures & pleasures of appreciation.

It's characteristic of need-pleasures that they die very quickly on us. A glass of water is very appealing when we are thirsty, but becomes a matter of indifference once we have drunk it. The pleasure lasts no longer than e need.

Pleasure of appreciation are very different. The pleasure we take in e smells of flowers, e beauty of e stars or a Mozart symphony somehow seems to take us outside ourselves. We feel that: "Something has not merely gratified our senses.. but claimed our appreciation by right."

There's even a glimmer of unselfishness about pleasures of appreciation. We can imagine a wine connoisseur, on his deathbed, taking care that his vintages are preserved properly to be enjoyed by others. After all, such fine wines deserve to be enjoyed.

"In e appreciative pleasures... we get something we can hardly calling love & hardly calling disinterested (that is, unselfish)."

Ha.