214 Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path
childbirth, child rearing, and so forth, but to her desire to
have a child.
We never strive for an abstract pleasure of a certain
magnitude but for concrete satisfaction in a very specific
way. If we strive for a pleasure that must be satisfied by a
specific object or sensation, then we cannot be satisfied
by another object or sensation that would offer a pleasure
of the same magnitude. For someone who is striving to
satisfy hunger, the pleasure in so doing cannot be replaced
with an equally pleasurable walk. Only if our desire were
for a specific quantity of pleasure in the abstract would it
disappear as soon as the price of achieving it turned out to
be a greater quantity of pain. But, since satisfaction is
sought in a specific way, the pleasure of fulfillment arises
even if a pain that outweighs the pleasure must also be
taken with it. Because the instincts of living creatures
move in a specific direction, and aim at a concrete goal, it
is impossible to reckon as an equivalent factor the quanti-
ties of pain that may obstruct the path to this goal. Provid-
ed that the desire is strong enough to be present to some
degree after overcoming the pain—however great this
may be in absolute terms—the pleasure of satisfaction can
still be tasted to its full extent. Thus, desire does not com-
pare pain directly with the attained pleasure; it indirectly
compares its own (relative) magnitude with that of the
pain. It is not a question of whether the pleasure or the
pain involved will be greater, but rather whether the de-
sire for the goal or the hindrance of pain will be greater. If
the hindrance is greater than the desire, then the latter
bows to the inevitable, weakens, and strives no further.
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