We move towards pleasure and away from pain.
Millions of years of evolution have honed this process, made it instinctual.
Let’s discuss, what’s really going on here?
What are the different types of pain a person go through in life?
What is the role of our society, in the person pain?
To what degree is my pain my pain, to what degree is it humanity’s pain?
If I suffer, do you share my pain? Does someone who doesn’t know me share my pain?
Is there a field of pain that we all draw on when we are suffering? Each of us with a unique one-of-a-kind interface with the field, but the same all-encompassing field?
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and dive straight off into the deep end of the pool. 
What is pleasure? What is pain?
Are they different sides of the same coin, are they independent energies, a mix?
I am not understanding what you want to convey can you simplify🙂
What is pleasure?
There are different types of pleasures. Which are related to touch, taste, visual, social interactions and others which I forget.
What is the shared trait of all forms of pleasure, the essence of pleasure?
It’s easy to feel, hard to express in words, right?
Yeah pleasures will change from person to person as it is dependent on the person character. I agree to the fact that some pleasures are common to everyone one of us, such as
Pleasures in earning money, power, spending time with children there are many. I am not an expert to give an abstract view in common pleasures.
What, if anything, do all pleasures have in common? What does it mean: to have pleasure?
What meaning you gave to the word “shared traits in all form”?
I see that conditioning play a role in pleasures. For example if was given beef to eat i will not eat and it is not the case for everyone.
Let’s say you met Xrgdll, an extraterrestrial from a planet that did not have words (or concepts) for pain and pleasure. And let’s say Xrgdll asked you:
What is pain? What is pleasure?
Keeping your answer as simple and direct as possible, what would you say?
Pleasure is thing which delights the mind, with positive emotion.
Pain is the thing which makes the mind uncomfortable, with negative emotion.
You did not answer my question yet
What, if anything, is common to all forms of pleasure: eating, watching tv, reading a fun novel, being with friends, accomplishing a goal, resting, daydreaming. What is the essence of pleasure regardless of its content?
Good. Nice and simple:
Pleasure is that which feels good, makes you happy.
Pain is that which feels bad, makes you unhappy.
Is that enough of a ‘working definition’ of pleasure and pain to dig deeper?
Sidebar:
Sometimes pain can cause pleasure, in masochists for example. You hurt yourself (pain), then feel happy because you believe you deserve it (pleasure).
Likewise pleasure can cause pain. Someone trips and you laugh (pleasure), then a feeling of guilt sweeps over you (pain).
I tried to make it as simple as possible from the knowledge I had, but we are complicated in different ways.
Finally my answer to your questions definitions will not hold everything in life, as they are limited. Pleasure which happens inside us is related to nature and it is a dependent on many different aspects.
Are you talking about a person with bipolar moods?
I see that laughing is quite complicated stuff. That is the reason, I opened a thread separately but people are not interested to discuss about that.
Coming to your statement above, If pleasure is causing pain then how it is called as pleasure. I do not know what you want to convey. Can you simplify for me, if possible?
Not specifically. Really all I’m saying is that sometimes people move toward pleasure even though they seem to be moving toward pain, because feeling pain gives them pleasure. So a parent who sacrifices for their child (pain) might do so for a ‘greater’ pleasure: that of being a good parent. Or a person who sabotages their chances for getting a job promotion (pain) might do so for a greater pleasure of punishing themselves out of self-hatred.
If that is still hazy, let me know. 