How to Think about Pleasure

I like to think of the pursuit of pleasure as having a critical time dimension for determining if that pleasure is 'bad' or 'good'. Think of this as short-term pleasure (bad or dishonerable) vs long-term pleasure (good or honorable).

This is in contrast to the article which makes the good/bad distinction from a more Stoic perspective: "The pleasures of the mind are good; the pleasures of the body, not so much". And as the article goes on to explain, this idea gained traction with Christians through the ideas of Kant and others, who thought the pursuit of pleasure in doing good was not noble in itself. But this is countered by more recent 20th century writers like C.S. Lewis and more recently John Piper who make a point that the pursuit of joy in doing good is noble (see Christian Hedonism: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/christian-hedonism )

But back to the time dimension of seeking what is pleasurable in the short vs. long-term. I've come to the realisation that most good things are the result of pursuing what is pleasurable in the long-term. Short-term vs long-term thinking. Think one-night stand vs lifelong marriage. Or the pleasure of enjoying junk food snacks in the short-term, vs self-discipline to savor desserts only after a meal. Or an example more from the realm of the mind, think watching sitcoms or playing video games vs finding pleasure in the discipline of self-study to pursue a long-term productive project. I see some of these ideas expressed in culture today through fasting apps and similar tools to help people control short-term pleasure impulses and instead pursue better long-term goals that are more beneficial.

Edit - I would just add that I see this more in terms of an economic calculation - people do what is in their best interest, and if you factor in a long-term approach to pleasure, it can help explain the benefits of choosing altruistic behavior over a short-term decision to do something that only pleases oneself. What is best for others usually turns out to be best for oneself in the long-term. A lot of cultural ideas like 'what comes around goes around' or karma, etc all stem from this concept.

This doesn't seem like much of a realization where you've concluded to just restate the usual batch of Christian puritan morals and sins about sex.

To be fair, I don't think they did. Nothing they wrote precludes polyamory and lots of sex, I think what they say is if you are gonna get sex, better try to be really good at it.

I think bigger problem with their perspective is that it is very egotistic. For example, the pleasure of playing a video-game really well (a long-term goal) is more important than a pleasure of spending an ad hoc evening with a loved one (a short-term one).

I suspect most humans have evolved to not only be happy about reciprocal altruism, but to give unconditionally. Because if you are just happy with reciprocity, then the resulting equilibrium can be cooperation or lack of it, both are possible. If we are (as social creatures) rewarded for both reciprocity and giving unconditionally (or perhaps, seeing reciprocity realized for others), the equilibrium is more cooperative.

It seems materially different to me because he doesn't appeal to any deity or authority as an unquestionable article of faith. Nor does he actually say anything about morality or sin or insist that not obeying these tenants will lead to some eternal torment. Instead what the op argues is that if you accept the postulate that long term gain is better than short term gain then you arrive at a certain set of conclusions about what is "good".

Instead of advocating for Christian moralism, it explains many aspects of Christian moralism using a secular first principal. Of course the religious practices that happen to correspond with long term gains outcompeted the others. The religions which told you to maximize hedonism and minimize work died out.

He takes it a step further. Religion is silent on junk food, sitcoms, video games, and any other modern "vice". The principal of long term vs short term gain can be applied equally well to modern times. The fact that many people independently feel like certain activities are bad habits, without any religious framework or persuasive argument telling them these habits are bad, seems to suggest that short term gain at long term expense is a root cause of the feeling of "vice". In other words, the feeling of "vice" is just a utility function baked into our neural network.

What the OP has written is infinitely more interesting than an arbitrary list of 10 sins with no explanation of why one should obey.

FWIW, I get long-term satisfaction from playing a couple of video games that I've become deeply knowledgeable and skillful in. I have a community of friends in each and the process of improving and having a good match is the fun part, rather than the simple act of playing itself. Think of it like becoming really good at chess for the deep games.