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Hedonism - For or against it?
Posted by morgantj • 8/24/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: hedonism, pain, philosophy, pleasure, purpose
Hedonism, are you for or against it? Are you a hedonist? What are your thoughts on it?
Hedonism being defined as: a school of philosophy which argues that pleasure has an ultimate importance and is the most important pursuit of humanity and that it is the only thing that is good for a person.
(Combination of Normative and Motivational Hedonism)
User Comments
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Here is a crap answer for you. Yes and no.-
Crap answer... I agree. Care to elaborate?
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Well it is all relative. Even the most hedonistic would realise that that which gives you pleasure one day, but the next pain, is perhaps to be avoided.
Essentially even a hedonist, at the end of the day, has to add up the pleasure then subtract the pain.
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yes, until other priorities move into place-
Other priorities? For a hedonist, maximizing pleasure, and minimizing pain is the only priority.
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unless you're a cenobite, then pain is pleasure -
Yes, THEIR pain and pleasure and when one has children the priorities should shift. Also I think you may want to double check, while your statment "Hedonism being defined as: a school of philosophy which argues that pleasure has an ultimate importance and is the most important pursuit of humanity and that it is the only thing that is good for a person." is part of it, the origins were not so much for complete pleasure so much as it was for complete happiness and in my opinion one cannot maximize their happiness if they do not evolve with lifes changes.
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People should be able to do whatever the hell they please, within limits of course. As long as you're not hurting others with your behavior, then it's none of my business.
However, I don't think living a life a life in constant pursuit of only pleasure is entirely a good thing. That's when it becomes selfish behavior and a superficial lifestyle. People need ups and downs and more meaningful pursuits to grow as human beings, it's what gives us substance, character, empathy.
Oh, and another thing, people have to experience pain, in order to experience pleasure. If you don't know pain, you cannot identify pleasure or appreciate pleasure.-
you bring up some valid points
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The pursuit of pleasure or any pursuit can never result in pleasure or happiness. Happiness is here and now in the appreciation of this moment. Clap your hands and dance and be glad you're alive. -
Give me Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper, and Thriller and I will be a pretty happy guy. -
For me pleasure has to do with accomplishment. I think it is an active process and not something passive that just happens.
If I want something done and I succeed, it gives me pleasure.
But after that, I want something more difficult done. That does not work right away, which is frustrating, but when I succeed I am happy again. And this is an ongoing process where frustration and pleasure alternate.
And minimizing pain, I think, has a lot to do with learning from mistakes and adjusting behaviour.
Or avoiding them, but then you also miss the pleasure I guess. -
Some people take pleasure in torturing little animals, so no I don't support the idea that pleasure takes precedence above all else. -
All good points raised.
If we lived in a bubble, I would say that yes - hedonism in that definition is perfectly fine. But since we don't - I would say that hedonism in it's purest form would not only be a poor choice, but perhaps even a counterproductive one. And using that premise - the reason groups of humans learn social interaction they way that they do is the action/reaction that behaviors cause - the pleasurable behavior that nets a painful reaction is counterproductive behavior in the sense that instead of achieving the hedonistic goal, they've actually created the opposite. (Non pleasurable experience)
In doing so humans naturally learn what not to do.
In other words, I don't even think it's achievable. -
The paradox of hedonism suggests that we fail to attain pleasures if we deliberately seek them.
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Well that doesn't make a whole lot of sense,since by its very definition u must seek everything pleasurable -
That is why it is a paradox, because the very pleasure they value as being most important thing to pursue will never be obtained if it is the motivation for the pursuit.
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while pleasure is ultimately very important to the human mind, it does carry with it a host of problems...particularly if pleasure is acquired in ways that could be very damning to oneself and others. but pleasure being, in the end, a very selfish thing (if we get extremely technical, we can say all human actions are selfish but that's a different conversation), hedonism would be a very flawed way of living that at some point would result in problems. the horrors and pains of existence are perhaps even more important than the pleasures because it is the pain we learn best from.
hedonism could even be a somewhat impossible way of living...
failing to obtain pleasure if we seek it...what about sex? we deliberately seek it, we attain it, and then if we're lucky, we get to seek it again a few minutes later and again attain it haha -
I'm from the school of thought that says: everything in moderation (including moderation itself) -
The problem with hedonism is that it believes that pleasure is the only human need. Reminds me of some lines from "Comfortably numb":
"Just a little prick,
There'll be no more 'ahhhh!!!!'
But you'll feel a little sick"
People need purpose, honor, deep relationships, a feeling of strength in themselves. They need to feel like they can wake up and lighten themselves in the morning. And they need other human beings too.
I also, however, agree with the idea that people should, for the most part, be allowed to do what they want, provided that they accept the consequences, though I also believe that there is a natural morality that if followed from the heart, rather then the mind, will lead to happiness. And I do believe that most people are too controlling and controlled. -
No hedonism only masochism -
What is it if you make every one else happy and you suffer for it?
I have always wanted to go to a Hedonism Resort. Maybe one day-
Why value happiness at all?
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Because it's fun!
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True happiness does not come from satisfying the ego. Feeding the ego is good for caterpillars, but not for butterflies. True joy comes from abandoning the ego and discovering the ability to soar. I think the Buddha said something like that, maybe not.-
A little bit zen-like.
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I'm a hedonist, through and through. -
Pleasure and hapiness are 2 different things. I am a hapinesstic. -
To live a hedonistic life is wrong, because one can not know what is good and what is bad for him/her at the time he/she was born. We are all ignorance of distinguishing the difference between right and wrong at our middle ages.
So it's all about knowing yourself issue which is a divine philosophical question: Do you know yourself? Do you know why sometimes you feel great and sometimes not? Do you know where your senses come from? Do you know what you know and what you don't know? Do you know why you are looking for the answers? ...etc.
I think hedonism is ok for you, if you all know the answers of these questions.-
But isn't there a value in learning ourselves rather then being told.
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Exactly, this is what i was trying to mean
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Cool! I still would disagree that hedonism is good for you though on the grounds that pleasure is not the most important thing in life, though it certainly is good.
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For, for, for. :-)) -
it has its time and place-
True, but usually refers to centering your entire life around the quest for pleasure, either intelligently (long-term) or not so intelligently.
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Have to agree with polybore on this one.-
Who wouldn't.
But for you, ma'am, is pleasure and pain all there is to life?
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The highest pleasure is supposed to be self denial according to some. Self denial leads to all kinds of interesting things. Moderation is much better. -
I don't think it's fair to say anything-pleasure, love, meaning, faith, honor, truth, etc.-is of ultimate importance. Everything is of relative importance, that is, relative to the situation you're in.
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I'm a parent. I don't think you can be a good parent and be hedonistic because if you're hedonistic, you're going to care about your needs and wants over those of your children's.-
Agreed. But not everyone has to be a parent.
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A hedonist might argue that caring about the needs and wants of their children brings them pleasure.
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double post
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