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Full Idea
How much the social pleasures are superior to any other may be known by visible tokens and effects; the marks and signs which attend this sort of joy are more intense and clear than those which attend the satisfaction of thirst and hunger.
Gist of Idea
People more obviously enjoy social pleasures than they do eating and drinking
Source
3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (Inquiry Concerning Virtue or Merit [1699], II.II.I)
Book Ref
'British Moralists 1650-1800 Vol. 1', ed/tr. Raphael,D.D. [Hackett 1991], p.182
A Reaction
He presumably refers to smiles and laughter, but they could be misleading as they are partly a means of social communication. You should ask people whether they would prefer a nice conversation or a good pork chop. Nice point, though.
| 381 | We feel pleasure when we approach our natural state of harmony [Plato] |
| 2156 | There are three types of pleasure, for reason, for spirit and for appetite [Plato] |
| 5256 | Some things are not naturally pleasant, but become so through disease or depravity [Aristotle] |
| 5258 | While replenishing we even enjoy unpleasant things, but only absolute pleasures when we are replenished [Aristotle] |
| 520 | The great pleasures come from the contemplation of noble works [Democritus (attr)] |
| 522 | Moderation brings more pleasures, and so increases pleasure [Democritus (attr)] |
| 6236 | People more obviously enjoy social pleasures than they do eating and drinking [Shaftesbury] |
| 3547 | Epicureans achieve pleasure through character development [Annas] |
| 4907 | The 'locus coeruleus' is one of several candidates for the brain's 'pleasure centre' [Carter,R] |