Starting with this post, the “What Are You Reading” column will be moving to a bi-weekly schedule for the rest of the Summer. Part of the reason for this is to make time for other projects I have planned for the next couple of months, but there is also an undeniable desire to unwind after a lengthy academic year. I imagine that most scholars approach Summer in the same way, as a time for both other work and relaxation. This is why I hear so many of my friends and colleagues talking excitedly about upcoming travels, trips to see friends and family, and interesting projects.
Of course, there’s a danger in using Summer only for pleasure, as it can keep you from other things you need to do. This concern has been highlighted numerous times by philosophers who warn against hedonism. Yet others say this concern is overblown, and someone properly oriented towards life will desire to do worthwhile work. As you embark on your own Summer plans, enjoy the following meditations on the role pleasure should play in a good and healthy life. See you in two weeks!
- Andrey Seregin, “Two Arguments against Hedonism in Plato’s Gorgias,” Social Sciences, 2015.
- Elliot Rossiter, “Hedonism and Natural Law in Locke’s Moral Philosophy,” Journal of the History of Philosophy, April 2016.
- Aaron Smuts, “The feels good theory of pleasure,” Philosophical Studies, September 2011.
- Richard Kenneth Atkins, “Peirce’s Critique of Psychological Hedonism,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy, March 2015.
- Jasper Doomen, “Consistent Nihilism,” Journal of Mind & Behavior, Winter/Spring 2012.
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