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  • Essay / Selfless pleasure is an oxymoron essay - 1025

    63). Immanuel Kant's version of disinterested pleasure holds that the pleasure one feels from viewing a work of art does not depend on any desire of the viewer and therefore derives only from the work itself (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2013). In this version, "interested" means viewing an object or work of art with a motive so that one's sensory (such as eating or drinking) or practical (such as using an object to fulfill a moral duty) desire is satisfied (Brady 1998, p.100). This version can hardly be considered an oxymoron, because selfless pleasure does exist in everyday life. For example, suppose an individual enters his friend's house for the first time and, upon noticing a painting, experiences a feeling of complete happiness and pleasure because he thinks the painting is beautiful. In this example, the individual is clearly experiencing disinterested pleasure, as he did not intend to view the painting for any purpose, and only gained pleasure from looking at it.