Permissible Pleasures

Psychologists and psychoanalysts often speak of forbidden pleasures, through which they try to explore the human psyche. Since prohibitions often fuel desire, forbidden pleasures always come to the forefront, always desired more. But what about non-forbidden pleasures? Do we appreciate their value, or does their value diminish in our eyes precisely because they are not forbidden?

“This book explores whether non-forbidden pleasures have more to tell us about pleasure than forbidden ones,” says Adam Phillips. “If this were true, so many things we take too seriously would lose their gravity. The despotism of the forbidden comes not from its prohibiting things, but from its telling us what we want to do—we want to do the forbidden. But the non-forbidden never gives orders.”

Phillips addresses burning issues such as obedience, self-criticism, and whether life is worth living, all within the context of forbidden and non-forbidden pleasures. He encourages us to think not only about the forbidden pleasure of disobedience but also about the non-forbidden pleasure of obedience. He points out that self-criticism often means unjustly condemning oneself, yet merciless self-criticism itself can be a pleasure—a non-forbidden pleasure. And he asks us all: “Is life unbearable, or have we been forbidden to enjoy it? And if life is also a forbidden pleasure, who forbade it and why?”