Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

ONE The Pursuit of Pleasure

The heights of pleasure

Hedonism then and now

TWO What Is Pleasure For?

THREE Sex

Sexy beasts

Pleasure, distilled

FOUR Drugs

How does it feel?

Recent history: the last few thousand years

The seven sisters of sleep

The playful mind?

Harm

FIVE And Chocolate

Why do we like it?

Where does it come from?

Is it addictive?

       Is it good for you?

       The real thing

       SIX Pleasure and Desire

       Liking and wanting

       The machinery of pleasure and desire

       Bereft of pleasure

       SEVEN The Sensation-Seekers

       Extroverts and sensation-seekers

       The lord

       The squire

       The beast

       The star

       The jester

       The king

       The pearl

       EIGHT Boredom, Unhappiness and Pain

       A number of moderately interesting facts about boredom

       Happiness

       In praise of displeasure

       Pain

       You won’t always like what you want

       NINE Addiction

       An excess of desire

       Sex and shopping

       The machinery of addiction

       Why me?

       How to escape

       TEN Beastliness

       Free fun for one?

       Or the stairway to Hell?

       A hazardous habit

       Pornography

       ELEVEN Four Drugs

       Alcohol

       Tobacco