Hedonist - what kind of person is this?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

Each of us, whether we realize it or not, has our own life core, a certain worldview on the purpose of human existence and our own set of life values that we put above all else. Freedom of choice, peculiarities of the cultural environment and the eternal search for life values have led to the emergence of many subcultures, including goths, emo, trash, hedonists, etc. etc. The latter in our time constitute a fairly large group, and therefore we will talk about them first.

The history of this worldview

A hedonist is a person for whom the main goal in life and the highest good is to receive pleasure and pleasure. Accordingly, he tries his best to avoid everything that can bring suffering. This position has a very rich history. The beginning of the doctrine substantiating this type of worldview appeared around 400 BC in ancient Greece. At that time, Aristippus of Cyrene lived there, who first developed and preached this doctrine. Initially, it was believed that a hedonist is a person for whom everything that is good isbrings pleasure. It follows from this that the priority of the needs of an individual who shares this teaching will always be higher than social institutions, which turn into conventions that limit his freedom. This point of view often leads to extremes. So, among the followers of Aristippus there appeared those who believed that a hedonist is one for whom any pleasure is justified, and this explained all their actions aimed at obtaining pleasure.

The wise Socrates criticized this extreme. He recognized that pleasures play a big role in life, but at the same time divided them into good and bad, as well as true and false. Aristotle did not recognize them as good at all and believed that in themselves they are not worthy of being life goals. Despite such criticism, the hedonist school did not cease to exist and was developed in the form of a moderate version proposed by Epicurus.

This Greek philosopher taught that only necessary and natural pleasures that do not destroy the equanimity of the human soul are worthy of being the goal of the aspirations of the individual. During the Renaissance, the milder Epicurean version of this current mainly prevailed. And starting from the end of the 18th century, hedonism gradually takes on a new form - utilitarianism. Its peculiarity is that the moral value of an act or behavior is determined by utility.

Why is hedonism so negative

It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the fact that everything is good only in moderation. The same rule applies to receivingpleasures. Do you want to know who the real hedonist is? This is a person who is too keen on receiving physiological pleasures. He overeats junk food, drinks alcohol that destroys his body and mind, smokes tobacco and is completely irresponsible in sex.

The classic portrait looks like this: an overstuffed hedonist leaves to induce vomiting in order to continue the feast. Hedonists are quite selfish, but at the same time they easily converge with each other if they feel that this can bring them some benefit, for example, to make a career.