---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Are these things good for any other…"
description: "\"Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but p..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg"
---

#  Are these things good for any other reason except that…

![“Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but pleasure and pain when you call them good?” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg)

> “Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but pleasure and pain when you call them good?”

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Plato questions whether any good is valuable beyond providing pleasure or avoiding pain, urging a deeper standard of goodness.

**In simple terms:** Goodness may be more than pleasure or pain avoidance.

Key Takeaway

Seek higher standards of good.

Themes

ethics philosophy value theory

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- personal decision making
- policy evaluation
- educational curricula
- ethical debates

Key Concepts

eudaimonia intrinsic worth moral realism

Questions to Reflect On

- What criteria should define goodness beyond pleasure?
- How can we assess intrinsic value?

A Different Perspective

Pleasure and pain are not the only measures of good.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain and pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-and-pleasure/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure And Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-and-pain/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/)

## Related quotes

> [Pleasure and pain, the good and the bad, are so intermixed that we can not shun the one without depriving ourselves of the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-d-aubigne-marquise-de-maintenon/pleasure-and-pain-the-good-and-the-bad-are-so-intermixed-that-we-can/)

[Francoise d'Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-d-aubigne-marquise-de-maintenon/)

> [“So if you understand that where there is a search for pleasure there must be pain, live that way if you want to, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/so-if-you-understand-that-where-there-is-a-search-for-pleasure-there/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [“Much of that afternoon remains an intense blur: Maybe extremes of pleasure and pain are just too much for the memory to handle, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-sanderson/much-of-that-afternoon-remains-an-intense-blur-maybe-extremes-of/)

[Catherine Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-sanderson/)

> [LIFE IS LIKE A COIN ….. PLEASURE AND PAIN ARE TWO SIDES … ONLY ONE SIDE IS VISIBLE AT A TIME … . BUT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjufago/life-is-like-a-coin-pleasure-and-pain-are-two-sides-only-one-side-is/)

[Sanjufago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjufago/)

> [Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talks that would describe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/most-of-life-is-so-dull-that-there-is-nothing-to-be-said-about-it-and/)

[E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/)

> [Pleasure and pain are only aspects of the mind. Our essential nature is happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/pleasure-and-pain-are-only-aspects-of-the-mind-our-essential-nature/)

[Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/)

> [“Pleasure and pain are merely states of mind, rather than situations. Every situation is neutral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levin/pleasure-and-pain-are-merely-states-of-mind-rather-than-situations/)

Daniel Levin

> [Life is both pleasure and pain, is it not? But why should we cling to pleasure and avoid pain? Why not merely live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/life-is-both-pleasure-and-pain-is-it-not-but-why-should-we-cling-to/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [LOVE: We think about it, Sing about it, Dream about it &amp;Loose sleep worrying about it. When we dont know we have it, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-we-think-about-it-sing-about-it-dream-about-it-loose-sleep/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My prize, my pleasure and pain, my endless desire. I've never know anyone like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/my-prize-my-pleasure-and-pain-my-endless-desire-i-ve-never-know/)

[Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/)

> [“Going through a dead parent's memorabilia is a hazardous undertaking; there is a fine line between pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/going-through-a-dead-parent-s-memorabilia-is-a-hazardous-undertaking/)

[Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/)

> [Love? we think about it, sing about it, dream about it, lose sleep worring about it, when we dont have it we search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/love-we-think-about-it-sing-about-it-dream-about-it-lose-sleep/)

[Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/)

> [“Feeling pleasure and pain, a sweet mixture that left you breathless and begging for more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-culbreth/feeling-pleasure-and-pain-a-sweet-mixture-that-left-you-breathless/)

Jennifer Culbreth

> [“Agony and ecstasy, pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/agony-and-ecstasy-pleasure-and-pain/)

[Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/)

> [Theres a very fine line between pleasure and pain. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/50-shdes-of-grey/theres-a-very-fine-line-between-pleasure-and-pain-they-are-two-sides/)

 50 Shdes Of Grey

## More by Plato

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

[Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

## More Avert quotes

> [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/)

[Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/)

> [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/)

[Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/)

> [What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-astonishing-changes-a-few-years-are-capable-of-producing-i-am/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [He who loathes war, and will do everything in his power to avert it, but who will, in the last extremity, encounter its perils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/he-who-loathes-war-and-will-do-everything-in-his-power-to-avert-it/)

[John Stevens Cabot Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/)

> [The way to chastity is not to struggle directly with incontinent thoughts but to avert the thoughts by some imployment, or by reading, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-way-to-chastity-is-not-to-struggle-directly-with-incontinent/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/)

> [Can we reach biosphere consciousness and global empathy in time to avert planetary collapse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/can-we-reach-biosphere-consciousness-and-global-empathy-in-time-to/)

[Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/)

> [To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/to-survive-to-avert-what-we-have-termed-future-shock-the-individual/)

[Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/)

> [We live in a very special time right now. At no other time in history has there been such mass disillusionment in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/we-live-in-a-very-special-time-right-now-at-no-other-time-in-history/)

[Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/)

> [Sex cannot be understood because nature cannot be understood. Science is a method of logical analysis of nature's operations. It has lessened human anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille/sex-cannot-be-understood-because-nature-cannot-be-understood-science/)

[Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille/)

> [We cannot avert our eyes without staining our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/we-cannot-avert-our-eyes-without-staining-our-souls/)

[Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/)

> [Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet. If you've been following climate science, you know what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/every-once-in-a-while-i-feel-despair-over-the-fate-of-the-planet-if/)

[Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/)

> [In time of trouble avert not thy face from hope, for the soft marrow abideth in the hard bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/in-time-of-trouble-avert-not-thy-face-from-hope-for-the-soft-marrow/)

[Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/)

> [Unless we establish some form of world government, it will not be possible for us to avert a World War III in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/unless-we-establish-some-form-of-world-government-it-will-not-be/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [All of us in this country give lip service to the ideals set forth in the Bill of Rights and emphasized by every additional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-of-us-in-this-country-give-lip-service-to-the-ideals-set-forth-in/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

Browse all 67 Avert quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but pleasure and pain when you call them good?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Plato"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reason-except-that-they-end-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Avert"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reason-except-that-they-end-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/plato-103_avert_are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reas_2424324.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain?…” — Plato",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Plato",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Are these things good for any...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reason-except-that-they-end-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/are-these-things-good-for-any-other-reason-except-that-they-end-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
