Le plaisir des sens Analyse psychologique et discours moral

In his treatise on the passions of the soul, Thomas Aquinas tackles the problem of the hierarchy of sensory pleasures. Are the pleasures of sight greatest, or those of touch? According to Thomas, pleasure is not necessarily a sin. It is a passion of the soul which is the product of sensations and linked to the human psychophysical constitution. The question of the hierarchy of pleasures can thus find a solution at the psychological rather than ethical level.