Pleasure Principle

Philosophy research relies heavily on Freudian principles, as psychology and philosophy are very closely related. When writing a research paper on the pleasure principle for your psychology courses, remember that part of Freud's ideology is more of a philosophy. Need help understanding this concept? Paper Masters has qualified academic writers to write your research papers on the pleasure principle for you.

One of the foundations of Freudian psychology is that of the pleasure principle, the idea that the human being will instinctively seek to avoid pain and seek out pleasure in the drive to satisfy psychological and biological urges. The idea was part of both the ancient philosophy of the epicureans and the Enlightenment thought of Jeremy Bentham.

The two philosophies flushed out as follows:

• Greek philosopher Epicurus held that the purpose of life was to obtain happiness and avoid pain through balance.
• Jeremy Bentham, as the founder of utilitarianism, is summed up by the "greatest happiness principle" and heavily influenced John Stuart Mill.

Pleasure Principle and Freud

Sigmund Freud, in several of his research papers and writings, including The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) and Civilization and Its Discontents (1931), held that the mind seeks out pleasure, linking the pleasure principle with the libido. The pleasure principle arises out of the id, which rules behavior during infancy and early childhood, when immediate gratification is sought.

Freud contrasted the pleasure principle with the reality principle, the ability of the conscious mind to analyze the world and act appropriately, delaying instant gratification. This is a function of the ego, which assures pleasure through reality and postponement of the drives of the id. Maturity is the process where one learns to endure delayed gratification.