I’m not particularly buying any of this. The central metaphor just doesn’t seem true (scratching an itch can be way more pleasurable than not having one, imE, and ditto with many other instances of receding unpleasantness) and I don’t think “[t]herefore what we usually take as pleasure is just scratching the sore of underlying suffering” follows from any of the stuff before (lots of types of pleasure for which this doesn’t seem true).
Thank you for this comment! It’s an excellent response that gets to the heart of the matter. You’re absolutely right to focus on the metaphor, as its validity determines the model’s usefulness.
Let me clarify the intended meaning, because I think we use ‘pleasure’ in two different senses, which is exactly what the metaphor is trying to reveal.
Distinguishing ‘pleasure’ from ‘well-being’. The claim isn’t that the sensation of scratching is less intense than the sensation of neutrality. The claim is about the overall state of the system. In a ‘scratching state’ the system has a problem (a sore/itch). The scratch provides a high-contrast relief from the negative state. This relief is intensely felt and is certainly ‘pleasurable’ in a hedonic sense. But the system’s baseline is compromised.
In a ‘no sore state’ the system has no problem. There is no negative state to relieve, so there’s no high-contrast ‘pleasure event’. Instead, there is a steady unobstructed peaceful functionality. This is what Nāgārjuna calls “more pleasurable still”, not in terms of peak sensory intensity, but in terms of well-being and the absence of background suffering.
The metaphor argues that what we often chase as ‘pleasure’ is the first kind: the intense signal of a problem being temporarily solved. The second kind—the peace of a problem-free system—is quieter but constitutes a higher quality of existence.
A way to test this: would you choose to have a mild chronic itch in order to enjoy scratching it? Probably not. The pleasure of scratching 100% depends on unpleasantness of the itch. The pleasure is fundamentally parasitic on the problem. If you could magically have no-itch state, you would certainly choose that! This reveals that at a meta-level we value the problem-free state more, even if scratch provides a momentary peak experience of pleasure.
Translating this to worldly desires: the model suggests our worldly cravings often work the same way. The pleasure of satisfying a craving (for food, distraction, status, etc.) is often most intense when it relieves a background state of lack, anxiety, or boredom (the ‘sore’). The point is not to never scratch an itch—that’s impractical, the insight is:
To recognize the itch. In other words: is this craving arising from a genuine neutral need or from a background ‘sore’ I’m trying to pacify?
To aim to problem-free state. Prioritizing movement to ‘no sore state’ (by insight, resolution of conflicts, etc.) over optimizing for the most efficient ‘scratching’ routines.
So you point is valid, if we equate ‘pleasure’ with raw hedonic intensity. The model invites us to consider a wider perspective of well-being, where freedom from the need to scratch is superior (if less intensive) outcome.
I’m not particularly buying any of this. The central metaphor just doesn’t seem true (scratching an itch can be way more pleasurable than not having one, imE, and ditto with many other instances of receding unpleasantness) and I don’t think “[t]herefore what we usually take as pleasure is just scratching the sore of underlying suffering” follows from any of the stuff before (lots of types of pleasure for which this doesn’t seem true).
Thank you for this comment! It’s an excellent response that gets to the heart of the matter. You’re absolutely right to focus on the metaphor, as its validity determines the model’s usefulness.
Let me clarify the intended meaning, because I think we use ‘pleasure’ in two different senses, which is exactly what the metaphor is trying to reveal.
Distinguishing ‘pleasure’ from ‘well-being’. The claim isn’t that the sensation of scratching is less intense than the sensation of neutrality. The claim is about the overall state of the system.
In a ‘scratching state’ the system has a problem (a sore/itch). The scratch provides a high-contrast relief from the negative state. This relief is intensely felt and is certainly ‘pleasurable’ in a hedonic sense. But the system’s baseline is compromised.
In a ‘no sore state’ the system has no problem. There is no negative state to relieve, so there’s no high-contrast ‘pleasure event’. Instead, there is a steady unobstructed peaceful functionality. This is what Nāgārjuna calls “more pleasurable still”, not in terms of peak sensory intensity, but in terms of well-being and the absence of background suffering.
The metaphor argues that what we often chase as ‘pleasure’ is the first kind: the intense signal of a problem being temporarily solved. The second kind—the peace of a problem-free system—is quieter but constitutes a higher quality of existence.
A way to test this: would you choose to have a mild chronic itch in order to enjoy scratching it? Probably not. The pleasure of scratching 100% depends on unpleasantness of the itch. The pleasure is fundamentally parasitic on the problem. If you could magically have no-itch state, you would certainly choose that! This reveals that at a meta-level we value the problem-free state more, even if scratch provides a momentary peak experience of pleasure.
Translating this to worldly desires: the model suggests our worldly cravings often work the same way. The pleasure of satisfying a craving (for food, distraction, status, etc.) is often most intense when it relieves a background state of lack, anxiety, or boredom (the ‘sore’). The point is not to never scratch an itch—that’s impractical, the insight is:
To recognize the itch. In other words: is this craving arising from a genuine neutral need or from a background ‘sore’ I’m trying to pacify?
To aim to problem-free state. Prioritizing movement to ‘no sore state’ (by insight, resolution of conflicts, etc.) over optimizing for the most efficient ‘scratching’ routines.
So you point is valid, if we equate ‘pleasure’ with raw hedonic intensity. The model invites us to consider a wider perspective of well-being, where freedom from the need to scratch is superior (if less intensive) outcome.