Hedonism - what is it, who is a hedonist, the hedonistic function and the meaning of life

This article was developed under the heading: Psychology.

Section: Movements.

How often do people now face challenges: “Drop everything and have fun!”, “Live here and now!” Even the well-known song from the cartoon by Timon and Pumbaa tells us: “Forget your worries and live just like that.” The main point of these calls is to live for pleasure, but will this really bring only benefits? Hedonism is the very meaning of life, which lies in pleasure. To understand this, in this article we will talk about hedonism - its essence, benefits and harm.

Hedonism is a special philosophical movement in which the meaning of life is equated with pleasure.

What is hedonism

The ancient Greek word “hedonistic” translates to “delight.”

The term "hedonism" means "high". A hedonistic lifestyle is the habit of enjoying life, enjoying every moment of it. This shows the similarity of hedonism with egoism. But hedonism and egoism cannot be identified. An egoist is a one-man farmer; he ignores the needs of other people. A hedonist, on the other hand, is focused on social activities and can derive pleasure from doing something good for another. An egoist is incapable of charity, but a hedonist gets real pleasure from it.

Rule 1 You need healthy pessimism

The rule of low expectations is the greatest hedonistic imperative. But he is also the most underrated. We get the greatest pleasures when we weren’t expecting anything, or even, on the contrary, when we were expecting something negative. The most basic example is a film or series that was described to you as a sandwich of despondency and mediocrity, but here you are, having turned on the first episode out of curiosity, laughing like crazy. You were preparing to drop the show in 10 minutes, “if it still doesn’t get interesting,” and then you can’t wait for the second season.

Or imagine a week in which you have to navigate between the Scylla of deadlines and the Charybdis of family obligations. There will be no days off. No evening beers or even bike rides. No days off. And then suddenly everything is somehow resolved and you manage to find time to rest. On this day, even a cup of tea and an extra hour of sleep will make you happy.

As you can imagine, this works vice versa. Even more powerful. The beauty you were pining for, but once you started dating, turned out to be a harmful fool - a typical example. Or a dish cooked in flour, which turns out to be nonsense in vegetable oil. Or “the summer that will be the best summer of my life” - how many times have you had that?

It is believed that the number of suicides during vacation is unreasonably high. But you and I know the answer: inflated expectations.

The principle of hedonism

The basic principle of hedonism can be considered the idea of being happy. This does not require money or wealth. To do this, you need to learn how to correctly formulate your desires and turn your dreams into goals. A good event may last only a moment, but a person, having noticed this moment, will be happy throughout the whole day or even several days.

Philosophers urge us not to set goals that are too difficult, as they will be difficult (maybe even impossible) to achieve. If an individual learns to split a large goal into several small ones, he has a greater chance of becoming happy.

The main goal of hedonism is the correct setting of priorities. Each hedonist chooses the means to achieve this goal himself. If a person chooses the wrong means to achieve a goal, he will not be able to achieve the desired state of pleasure.

The saying “Everyone forges his own happiness” has a direct connection with hedonism and encourages the individual to find his purpose and enjoy his own actions.

Examples of excessive hedonism

In history you can find a large number of examples of hedonism, including excessive ones. Let's look at the most famous of them.

French revolution. The development of navigation and revolutionary sentiments introduced a fashion for hemp preparations not only for medical and scientific purposes. The first to describe the effects of hashish was the doctor Moreau de Tours. He described his feelings and praised the drug; after him, many cultural figures began to try hashish, among whom was the writer Gustave Flaubert and the painter Eugene Delacroix. Most of the Parisian bohemia began to enjoy the drug, and they were no longer worried about those revolutionary sentiments in society.
Introduction of Prohibition. With the ban on alcohol as a form of pleasure, underground clubs began to open, where it was offered to those who could pay for it. The exclusivity of such an offer was of interest even to those who did not drink alcohol and had no previous addiction to it. So, during Prohibition, alcohol became a forbidden pleasure that more and more people wanted to taste, including in order to feel their own uniqueness among everyone else.
Hippie trend. Hippies were prominent representatives of hedonism. Representatives of the hippie trend took psychedelic substances, maintained sexual relations “of everyone with everyone,” and lived for pleasure and universal happiness.

Hyperhedonism is always associated with human addictions

Hedonic function

In the literary works of the classics you can find the phrase “hedonic function”. With the help of this concept, sources of pleasure are determined. The hedonic function is everything that is pleasant for the analyzers of the human body:

successful combination of colors in the interior;
geometry of spatial composition;
melodic sound of a musical instrument;
timbre of the interlocutor's voice;
texture of clothing fabric;
successfully complement the image with accessories;
a brilliantly written novel.

Hedonic values

The ideology of hedonism is based on the following values:

the ability to love yourself;
the ability to enjoy life;
the ability to enjoy performing job duties in production;
the ability to have fun while teaching the younger generation;
the ability to be proud of oneself and the team;
the ability to help another person achieve a cherished goal, make a dream come true.

The origins of hedonism are deeply rooted in history.

Any culture is defined by its teachers and founders.
Hedonism can already be recognized for the fact that it originated a long time ago, back in Ancient Greece, and the founder of this trend was the student of the great Socrates, who is still respected. Freud, developing this teaching, determined that a person from the day of his birth is a natural hedonist, but over time everything becomes boring, and to get pleasure from life you need control over your actions and the method “work hard, try - enjoy life.”

Hedonism in philosophy

The founder of this worldview is Aristippus. The philosopher divided the entire set of human emotional reactions into 2 poles: pain and pleasure. According to Aristippus, the main task of a person is to make sure that he does not feel pain and experiences maximum pleasure. Wanting to achieve a state of high, a person uses any methods and means.

Initially, supporters of the teachings of Aristippus believed that a state of high could only be achieved through bodily pleasure. However, with the advent of Christianity, people's desire for carnal pleasures began to be condemned. People began to look for other sources of pleasure.

The opposite of the hedonistic cult is asceticism, which was based on a person’s conscious refusal of excesses.

Aristippus' views were shared by Epicurus, who said that every person strives to achieve the state of nirvana. He considered hedonism as one of the criteria for the psychological maturity of an individual.

Comparison parameter	Hedonism	Epicureanism
the main objective	Enjoy	Avoid suffering
Varieties of pleasure	Didn't stand out	Physical comfort and spiritual pleasure
Values	Everything that is important to a person	Spiritual
How to achieve bliss	No specific recommendations	To achieve bliss, you need to minimize stressors

Epicureanism and hedonism can be considered synonyms, but it is impossible to put an equal sign between these concepts.

Perenia Bentham in his writings described a new vision of the hedonistic concept proposed by Aristippus. Bentham said that absolutely every member of society should be happy. The philosopher believed that this could be achieved with the help of utilitarianism. According to utilitarianism, a person, before committing an important act, must think about how his actions will affect society.

Later, P. Bentham's ideas were developed by his followers. So, for example, J. Mill transformed Bentham’s ideas about utilitarianism into the concept of eudaimonism. Mill wrote that the happiness of all members of society is possible if each individual adheres to its moral principles. John Mill's ideas are consistent with Epicureanism.

Sigmund Freud wrote that the hedonistic principle is inherent in a child from birth. He screams when he is hungry, demands to change his wet diapers, and cries angrily if he is left alone in the room.

The original concept of hedonism has today turned into healthy egoism, according to which the meaning of a person’s life comes down to finding happiness, but without harming others.

Hedonism vs. altruism

An altruist is someone who puts the happiness and well-being of everyone else above their own. Altruism is the highest form of generosity and kindness. A woman who gives her last dollar to a homeless shelter is an example of an extreme altruist. However, you can still call yourself an altruist without hurting yourself; You just have to do things for other people without expecting any reward for yourself.

Altruism is often contrasted with hedonism for obvious reasons. Many people believe that hedonism is the opposite of altruism. However, altruism and hedonism differ only in that my happiness is different from your happiness. Many philosophical and religious traditions argue that this is not true—that the greatest joy in life is bringing joy to others, and that my well-being ultimately depends on your well-being. If this is true, then the ultimate hedonist would also be the ultimate altruist! This idea is central to many religions, especially Buddhism.

Hedonism in folk culture

Examples of hedonism can be found in popular culture, in the media and advertising, and in literary works:

Heroes of many Russian fairy tales dream of wealth and a successful marriage. Of course, most of these characters are portrayed by the authors as negative, but one way or another their images influence the formation of the worldview of the younger generation.
In many fairy tales, the main character (the good fellow, the prince) receives the king's beautiful daughter and half of the kingdom as his wife when he copes with difficult trials prepared by the king. However, in such tales, some animal or magical object helps the young man get a bride with a luxurious dowry. He does not make any effort to achieve the desired result.
In many TV shows you can see people who have built their own business or become celebrities with the help of money. Watching such programs gives rise to envy in the viewer or a desire to also try to achieve social recognition through dubious means.
The conditions of many computer games are aimed at ensuring that a person endlessly upgrades the character’s abilities and obtains game values. By identifying himself with a computer game character, an individual transfers virtual attitudes to real life.

Psychologist's advice: In order for a child's moral and personal development to proceed correctly, parents must carefully monitor what he reads, what films he watches, what sites he visits on the Internet. If parents do not like what a teenager is interested in, they should reasonably express their attitude towards this or that activity. Categorical judgments and total prohibitions should be avoided. It is possible to influence the process of personal development only if there is unconditional trust and mutual understanding between the teenager and parents.

Test for the level of hedonism

The purpose of the test is to determine the degree of hedonism in people over 18 years of age. It is used for independent passage and in the methods of psychologists. Consists of 25 questions, opposite which are put “yes” and “no”:

I always keep an eye on the release of new films.
I'd rather starve than eat tasteless food.
I don't drink the cheapest alcohol.
I think it’s normal when a person tries to forget about his problems.
I love having real fun.
I am familiar with the morning hangover syndrome.
Interesting acquaintances promise entertainment.
At least once my partner talked about my sophistication in sex.
People often tell me about my good taste.
Sometimes I deprive myself of something so that I can enjoy it twice as much in the future.
I drink at least a little every week.
I go shopping for fun.
Have used drugs at least once in the last 3 months.
Even though I can’t afford all the best, I try to try it at least once.
I rarely feel guilty for loving pleasure.
When I have a headache, the best thing for me is to lie down.
You need to pamper yourself every day.
If I like a song, I listen to it 10 times a day.
In the evenings I have a tradition of self-pleasure.
I take pleasure from any activity.
I communicate with nice people as a gift for myself.
When there are 2 dishes on the table (healthy but simple and unhealthy but expensive), I will choose the second one.
If beautiful music is playing, if there is a pleasant interlocutor nearby, I allow myself to drink more.
I smoke.
I don’t see the joy of preventing someone from enjoying food or alcohol.

At the end of the test, add up the number of positive answers.

Up to 5 points: a hermit person. Able to renounce, endure difficulties, simplifying life as much as possible. The personality loves to think, mental tasks bring pleasure. Doesn't communicate much with strangers. Those around him do not understand the position and consider the person’s character to be difficult. They have few friends.

6-13: More monk than hedonist. If necessary, a person can easily cope with difficulties. Hard worker, loves to achieve goals, critical. The individual rarely overeats and does not abuse alcohol, for fear of relapse. He has few friends and has constant interlocutors.

14-19: more of a hedonist than a hermit. Likes to get drunk, eat, communicate with interesting people. Such individuals need to live fruitfully, solving problems correctly. The threat is to descend into bottomless hedonism.

20-15: inveterate hedonist. A person has many friends, he has advanced his career, improved himself, but he lives a bestial life. He is not able to renounce himself and cope with difficulties. There are many bright events in life, but inside the soul is empty.

Questions are answered quickly, without hesitation.

The paradox of hedonism

On the path to pleasure, an individual faces many difficulties. One of them is the risk of not getting the desired pleasure. This risk is explained by the paradox of hedonism, which is the following: the more a person strives for happiness, the more difficult it is to achieve it.

G. Sidgwick explained this paradox by saying that it is naive to expect instant pleasure. True happiness requires a lot of energy and work. And hedonists are looking for easy ways to get pleasure. Therefore, their positive emotions after achieving a result are short-lived.

You can achieve a lasting happy state only as a result of constant systematic work on yourself and hard work. Only if these conditions are met will a person be able to avoid the paradox of hedonism.

Is hedonism good or bad?

A person’s hedonic mood can manifest itself in completely different forms and differs both in the source of pleasure and in the ways of achieving it. That is why there is no clear answer to the question of the positive or negative nature of the phenomenon of hedonism. That is why it is fashionable to highlight both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

The advantages of hedonism include:

Achieving happiness by people;
Adult hedonism is characterized by an awareness of one's own self and the ability to be happy without harming other people;
Hedonists are creative, interesting and free people;
Representatives of hedonism are positively minded people who are able to energize those around them;
The desire to make the world around us better, to help other people for free.

Flaws

The disadvantages of hedonism are:

Dangerous and destructive ways of obtaining pleasure both for the individual and for society;
Causing harm to other people in the process of pleasure;
Infantile hedonism, its consequences can lead to depressive and suicidal tendencies for the hedonist himself;
Exaggeration of the value of material goods over spiritual ones;
Neglect of the interests of others.

Who is a hedonist

According to social psychologists, society today can be called hedonistic, since almost every individual strives for pleasure.

A hedonist is a person who lives one day at a time. He does not set global goals for himself. His micro-tasks in life come down to making him feel good here and now. He gets real pleasure from things like:

entertainment;
delicious food;
hobby;
chat with friends;
family;
recognition in society;
sex;
trips;
present.

A striking example of a hedonist is the main character of the cartoon “Futurama” - a robot. The hedonic orientation of the electronic machine is so strong that in its actions it ignores the norms of morality and law. His own desires are important to him, not the foundations of society.

Are hedonists and egoists different people?

Often, hedonists are not liked because they believe that they live only for themselves; in fact, this is not at all the case.
When there are happy people nearby, their number is growing every day, you can spread optimism, but doing this is much more difficult than spreading negativity around. Hedonists try to constantly develop, because by degrading you can only get a short-term high, mainly alcoholics and drug addicts suffer from this. Therefore, it is desirable to have fun without harming others, but first of all, ourselves.

The hedonist approaches the egoist in an effort to comprehend himself spiritually, to find out the purpose of his own “I” and to endow it with absolute happiness in his head. A person who takes grandmothers across the road, helps loved ones financially, and is ready to provide moral support to relatives can also be a hedonist, but only on the condition that his good deeds make him happier every minute.

Signs of a hedonist

A person who is accustomed to observing others can identify a hedonist by such behavioral characteristics as:

a person loves a beautiful table setting;
demonstrative model of behavior, the desire to impress, to attract attention;
before trying food, he will definitely smell it;
a hedonist has a high level of development of communication skills, knows how to make a good impression on his interlocutor, and win him over;
he has a developed sense of style;
egocentrism;
he knows how to compromise when solving complex issues and tries to avoid conflict situations;
he carefully shapes his immediate environment;
The pleasure-seeker's skills of self-control and emotional endurance are weakly expressed;
he is looking for easy ways to get money and material wealth, so he is often disappointed in the final result;
a hedonist has a low level of cultural and moral development;
tendency towards laziness and idleness.

Hedonists like a carefree life full of excitement

Types of hedonism

The main types of hedonism are:

Ethical hedonism. This type of hedonism is characteristic of those who know how to see beauty in ordinary things. The main life values of such a person are love, family, children, art. They get pleasure from the fact that an unfamiliar passer-by smiled at them. Wanting to cheer themselves up, they watch a good movie or read classic literature.
Psychological hedonism. This type of hedonia assumes that an individual receives pleasure not only from the result of a particular activity, but also in the process of activity. In other words, psychological pleasure is the expectation of happiness, the pursuit of it, and the performance of certain actions aimed at making a dream come true. At the same time, a person experiences not only physical pleasure, but also spiritual pleasure. Positive emotions arise in a person with psychological hedonia even if he does something good not for himself, but for another.

Altruism is a type of psychological hedonism.

Infantile hedonism. A person with this type of desire for pleasure does not know how to save money or plan his future. He lives today, so he often takes unnecessary risks in an effort to have fun. Infant hedonists often become drug addicts and alcoholics, since their willpower is very weak. In their youth, they do not see anything dangerous in their addictions. However, at the age of 40–45 they realize that they have achieved nothing in life, did not have time to start a family, and have lost true friends. This reality frightens them, but the realization of the catastrophic nature of the situation comes to them when they cannot radically change their lives.

Do you consider yourself a hedonist?

Yes

100%

Voted: 4

Basic principles of hedonism

The most important principle of hedonism is to live for your own pleasure and try to reduce to zero all possible suffering. However, it is worth knowing that hedonism has a number of principles on which the hedonistic doctrine is based:

Don’t overestimate yourself, external factors, or the importance of the source of pleasure. Inflated expectations and fantasies inevitably lead to disappointment. The best outcome would be to expect something not on a large scale, but within a reasonable framework. Then, upon receiving a truly wonderful event, it brings satisfaction and happiness much more than expected.
Don't build your life only on big events. Tasks that are time-consuming and require exhausting and painstaking work may not be worth the effort spent on them. Include small pleasures in your life: be it a cup of coffee, a concert of your favorite band, or a walk in the middle of the work day.
Know your limits. If you constantly eat a dish that brings you great pleasure, sooner or later it will stop “acting” on you. Pamper yourself evenly.
The level of pleasure depends on external factors, such as the setting, surroundings or timing. Combine one pleasure with a number of related ones, so you can increase your level of satisfaction.

It is important to realize the boundaries of your pleasures and desires

Examples

Vivid examples of hedonism are:

A person for whom nothing can spoil his mood. In production, such an employee annoys everyone with his optimism and inexhaustible energy.
An individual who is overly focused on material goods. He dreams of buying a car and has been saving money for a long time. However, the long-awaited expensive acquisition does not please him for long: he understands that it is undignified for a person who drives such a cool car to live in a one-room apartment. Such a person does not know how to control his desires and rank them.
A person who has learned not to envy others. He does not compare himself with a successful businessman or with a rich neighbor. He doesn't feel angry when he learns that a friend got a promotion or a neighbor bought a second car. The life meaning of such a person is personal growth. He compares himself yesterday with who he has become today. He is happy with what he has today, and does not dream of what he will have tomorrow.

Most modern people are focused on consumption rather than production of material goods

Happiness does not lie in hedonism. Why Scientists Advise Stop Chasing Pleasure

Brave New World

When the majority had freedom of choice and some kind of material well-being, they stopped focusing on survival and began to think about how to manage their free time.
The average person now has access to pleasures that just a hundred years ago were the prerogative of a tiny elite. Hedonism, which had been gathering dust in the recesses of history since the time of Epicurus, finally waited its time and very quickly entered the top values of postmodern society. At the suggestion of neuroscientists, who in the middle of the last century found a “pleasure center” in the human brain, the philosophy of hedonism now has a scientific basis.

In 1972, psychology professor Michael Fordice conducted the first empirical study on happiness and found that pleasure-seeking was the only thing that distinguished happy people from unhappy people.

In the late 1970s, sociologist Daniel Bell stated that puritanical ethics in Western society were replaced by hedonistic morality, in which happiness is the highest value, and everything that helps to achieve it (consumption, entertainment and pleasure) is good.

Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, formulated the theory that the development of society and each individual phenomenon and individual goes through three stages: first, survival, then socialization, and finally, pleasure. Looking around, he discovered that most modern phenomena and things have reached the final stage and exist for our pleasure. Sex, food, housing, work, relationships, education, clothing and things in general have become necessary for a person not for survival, but for fun. The cult of orgasm, fashion in photography, advertising, television, travel, marketing, legalization of abortion and decriminalization of homosexuality, fashion for childfree and antidepressants, euthanasia and palliative medicine, Louis Vuitton handbag and your decorative Canadian Sphynx - all this and much more, Bell and Baudrillard believe products of a hedonistic consumer society.

Thus, hedonism changed not only the personal value system of individuals, but also society as a whole. Even Christianity - one of the most conservative religions - on this wave agreed to undergo a slight transformation and, in the person of some denominations, began to preach the gospel of prosperity and Christian hedonism, as if saying that God, of course, exists, but only in order to make a person happy.

Let's make you happy

An army of motivational speakers, happiness-inspiring coaches and positively thinking writers is helping to lead humanity to this goal (Amazon gives out 100 thousand books for the search “happiness”). Conferences, trainings, workshops, master classes and entire institutes teach those who want personal and social happiness.

Business is no less concerned about the happiness and positive emotions of earthlings.

Scientists have found that happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy employees. Therefore, companies such as Google, Zappos and McDonalds have added the position of chief happiness officer (CHO) - HR 2.0, who diagnoses and manages the emotional state of employees.

Arnaud Collery, the world's first CHO (general manager of happiness)

But happy customers are another headache for business, because in an oversaturated market it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell just a good product or even excellent service. Customers need to be offered something more—a strong emotion. Companies are helped to cope with this task by neuromarketers, who do approximately the same thing that neuroscientist James Olds did in his time: they study the reactions of our brain and act on the area that is responsible for the anticipation of pleasure. That is, they stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the consumer, which forces him to perform the desired action - a purchase.

In addition to neuromarketers, “customer experience managers” (CEMs) work with the emotions (and neurotransmitters) of clients. They analyze the customer's experience with the company and model it in such a way that the customer experiences strong positive emotions.

You know exactly what good CEM work is if you have ever been to IKEA malls (especially European ones). Are you afraid of getting lost? Just follow the marked route. Do you have any doubts? Sit down, lie down, try turning it on and off. Are your children tired? Take them to a play space where they can be supervised and have a chance to let out their energy. Are you hungry? Welcome to the restaurant. Did you buy something? Come home, assemble your desk and feel part of the IKEA brand.

Technology is an indispensable tool in the happiness industry. For example, facial recognition technology, which the American chain Walmart uses in store video cameras to scan the emotions of its customers and manage them using the received data. Or “happiness mats” with built-in neurosensors, invented by British Airways. Sensors scan the brain reactions of sleeping passengers and measure their level of satisfaction. At the moment when the passenger feels most relaxed and comfortable, the mat changes color from red to blue.

Are you eager to find out the exact level of your happiness and learn how to manage it? Just install the desired application on your smartphone. For example, Happify. First, it will ask you a few personal questions, and then offer an individual program for upgrading your happiness. The developers claim that their exercises are based on scientific research, and by doing them you will reduce stress, improve your health, or find your calling. The MyMoodTracker application will collect information about your mood and external factors that may affect it: sleep, exercise, medications, menstrual cycle, stress, pain. With it, you can track your triggers, discover what makes you happy, and manage your mood. No magic - just hard working.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology went even further and came up with a system for measuring happiness, which involves a Pebble smartwatch and a smartphone with the Happimeter application. The watch collects physical data (body temperature, heart rate, level of physical activity, emotional state). The app asks how happy and active you feel. It then syncs the data it receives (as well as information about the weather, your location, and the day of the week), shows you which of nine emotional states it thinks you're in, or predicts what emotions the coming day might bring you.

Happiness in law

The hype around the topic of happiness has increased its relevance to the level of state interests. Economists (Lyde Richard, professor at the London School of Economics), sociologists (Ruth Veenhoven) and psychologists (Martin Seligman) have begun to argue that the happiness of citizens is a measurable indicator that is as important for assessing the effectiveness of public policy as their level of health and well-being.

In the highest echelons of power, the idea is increasingly heard that the approach on the basis of which the success of government policy is measured by the level of GDP is outdated, and the new one should be based on the happiness of people.

For the first time (1972), Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist monarchy sandwiched between India and China, began measuring the success of government policies by the level of happiness of its citizens. Its king, Jigme Singye Wangchuku, came up with the idea of replacing the concept of GDP with GNH - gross national happiness. It turned out well. In terms of happiness and compared to its neighbors, Bhutan's well-being looks decent, despite the fact that it has topped the list of least developed countries since 1971.

Bhutan's example has inspired economically prosperous countries to work on the happiness levels of their citizens. This happened just after the global economic crisis of 2008. In 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that if a “happiness index” was added to the GDP formula, this would help cope with the crisis. At the end of 2010, the UK government allocated two million pounds sterling to measure the happiness index of the British people. And in 2015, the What Works Center for Wellbeing organization appeared there, which helps the leadership of the kingdom make its subjects happier.

In 2011, the UN General Assembly, at the initiative of Bhutan and in agreement with 50 states, including France, the UK and Japan, adopted a resolution “Happiness: A Holistic Approach to Development”, which recommended using happiness as an indicator of a country's development. China responded to this initiative the fastest and in the same year introduced its own happiness index. In 2013, South Korea founded the Happy Learning for All program. And the Singapore program “Study of Personality and Civic Consciousness” included an assessment of social-emotional state. In 2014, Mathieu Ricard, a biochemist turned Buddhist monk, was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos for the first time, and the program included 25 seminars on the topic of mental and physical health.

In the context of government programs, happiness is understood as citizens’ satisfaction with life, and it is quite tangible.

For example, in the World Happiness Report, which has been published annually by UN departments since 2012, the level of happiness of a country is assessed by such indicators as GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom of citizens to independently make vital decisions, generosity and attitude to corruption. Even Bhutan increased the happiness of its subjects not only through meditation and growing flowers on the streets, but also through the organization of mobile communications in the country and the construction of highways.

Happiness is not about pleasure. How is that?

So, hedonism makes people happier, happiness can be measured, it can be controlled, and everything is heading towards the fact that it will become the main measure of our lives. This is where the critics come in. They laugh at the categorical attitude of cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists who are convinced that they really are about to find the “happiness button.” And that this button is directly related to pleasure. What's so funny?

In a market economy, pleasure is a commodity. The more money a person has, the more pleasures are available to him. The happier the person. Logical? Let's ask the scientists. For example, Richard Easterlin, an American economist and demographer, who back in the 1970s noted that wealth, of course, affects a person’s subjective experience of happiness, but only insofar.

An experiment he conducted showed that life satisfaction increases in proportion to the amount of money only among low-income citizens. It is already more difficult to make a person with the average income in the country happy.

That is, rich Americans are, of course, happier than poor ones. But if you increase the income of some and others proportionally, then the poor will feel happier, the rest will not. Other scientists tried to argue with Easterlin, but in 2010 he put them to rest when he published a new study on 37 countries and confirmed that the paradox he noticed was present not only in America. The topic of paradoxes does not end with Easterlin's discovery.

In 1981, sociologists launched the World Values Survey to collect data on the worldviews and values of everyone living on earth. The study covered countries where 90% of the world's population lives. His results showed that people's subjective experience of well-being was most strongly correlated with free choice. And where there is freedom of choice, there is pleasure, right? Not really.

In 1971, futurist Alvin Toffler coined the concept of “overchoice” and said: “The time comes when choice becomes overchoice, and freedom becomes unfreedom.” About 30 years later, Toffler’s “prediction” came true, and his idea was picked up and developed by other scientists. The most famous of them is perhaps psychologist Barry Schwartz.

Schwartz is convinced that the over-choice in which Western society lives does not actually give freedom, but takes it away and deprives a person of pleasure. Because, firstly, the selection process takes a lot of effort. And secondly, when a person has finally made up his mind, he immediately begins to regret and torment himself with thoughts that, probably, another option was better. Sound familiar?

It turns out that, purely hypothetically, people like the idea of free choice. And even makes them happy. But on an empirical level, the opposite is true. Or not quite the opposite, but as with income: choice is related to happiness, but there is a limit.

Besides all sorts of paradoxes, modern critics of hedonism have one more important trump card. The fact is that until recently, the efforts of most sociologists, psychologists and neuroscientists were focused only on studying the hedonic type of happiness. But we need to look at happiness more broadly.

Let's go back for a moment and remember Aristotle, who, like modern scientists, fended off his opponents and developed the concept of eudaimonic happiness. A person experiences it when he concentrates not on his emotions, but on the outside world and has some purpose in life, when he realizes his involvement in something larger than himself. The pleasure of a delicious dinner, an exciting movie, or a victory for your favorite football team—the classic hedonistic joys of life—provide an immediate effect (happiness) that quickly fades. Neuroscientists will tell you why. Raising children or volunteering are not always fun, but they do give you the feeling that life has meaning and is not in vain. This works especially well in the long term. And neuroscientists will agree with this too.

Over the past five years, several studies have been conducted in the area of eudaimonic happiness. In 2013, psychologists Steve Cole and Barbara Fredrickson studied how the body genetically responds to feelings of happiness and meaning.

It turned out that the human body reacts to troubles and hedonistic pleasures in the same way - with stress. But scientists did not notice such a reaction among people whose lives have meaning. At the same time, the hedonistic subjects most often noted that they were happy people, while those who had meaning in life did not.

Emily Esfahani Smith, editor-in-chief of the Stanford University think tank, spent five years studying research from psychologists, philosophers and neuroscientists, and interviewing people to find out what makes them happy. She presented the results of her research in a book published in early 2017, The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters, and during a TEDx talk. Emily Esfahani concluded that the pursuit of happiness makes people unhappy, while the search for meaning leads to greater satisfaction. People find meaning in life when they feel connected and useful to someone other than themselves, and when they develop their best qualities.

In the same year, neuroeconomists at the University of Zurich Philipp Tobler and Ernst Fehr conducted an experiment during which they scanned the brains of subjects and found that people who want to make others happy, rather than themselves, feel more happiness. And neuroscientists Richard Davidson and Brianna Schuyler found that eudaimonic happiness is good for health: people with a purpose in life recover faster from stress than those who do not.

Of course, the studies listed do not negate everything said by supporters of hedonism. And they don’t put an end to the study of happiness. But judging by the results of new research and its intensity, meaningful life has every chance of becoming a new mainstream. And the Chinese, with their big communist dream, are exemplary lucky ones.

Ideology of consumption

The cult of pleasure became the basis of an entire ideological system. The ideology of consumption is focused on the use of goods and material values, and not on their production.

The formation of consumption ideology is facilitated by:

intensive economic development of the country;
increasing the level of income of the population;
reducing the length of the working day and working week;
increasing a person’s free time;
human desire for individualization;

A person with a consumption ideology tends to:

shopping (spending money on items you can do without);
communicate on the Internet (wasting money on paying for communication services);
when choosing things, focus on fashion trends;
apply for loans (you want to buy real estate or a car to emphasize your status as a wealthy citizen, but you don’t want to save money);
pay not only for the quality of the product, but also for the brand;
choose prestigious specialties in vocational educational institutions that provide only paid training (a person wants to consider himself among the elite).

Should we strive for hedonism?

In the media, a hedonist is a happy person. He likes to get a lot from life without expending effort. At the same time, it seems that he gets everything easily. Many people like the image of such a darling of fate; they also want to do nothing, to live according to the principle of consumerism.

Of course, it is nice to satisfy all your needs, but the hedonic philosophy is very dangerous. The Hedonism cult requires a person to transfer all his money to his whims and immediate desires. In simple terms, being a hedonist is not financially profitable.

A pronounced desire to possess things and money turns people into inhuman creatures

Hedonists among us

Taking a close look at your friends, colleagues at work, family and friends, it is easy to identify a hedonist.
These are mostly creative people who lead a different lifestyle from the majority of people, often look or strive to appear younger than their age, can be very active, or have a philosophical outlook on life. They have a distinctive sense of humor, self-irony, are vulnerable, sensitive, and romantic. If you can look into their soul and understand them, then it will be interesting for you to spend time with them, communicate and even do business

Hyperhedonism

Hyperhedonism refers to an extremely strongly expressed human need to buy new things, exotic food, and the desire to receive pleasant bodily sensations. The danger of hyperhedonism is that the individual loses his sense of proportion. Each time he wants to experience more and more vivid positive emotions. Hyperhedonism pushes a person to take unnecessary risks, deviant behavior and criminal acts.

Psychologist's comment: If a person with hyperhedonic aspirations does not receive acute impressions for a long time, his irritability increases and his mood drops. The emotional state of such an individual can be compared to the state of a drug addict who cannot receive the next dose of a psychoactive substance. In this state, a person not only can cause physical harm to himself, but also poses a danger to others.

The problem of hedonism

The disadvantages of the teaching include its incorrect understanding and descent into base hedonism. It can destroy not only a person’s life, but also those around him. To satisfy desires, a person can commit crimes, start drinking, or take illegal substances.

Satisfying base desires with alcohol

Hedonism, developed to the maximum, also becomes a problem, when the purpose of existence becomes obtaining pleasure, seeking pleasure. Such people stop enjoying ordinary things, lose loved ones, exchanging them for other people in search of new sensations. Gradually everything around becomes insipid, the taste for life disappears. This mood can lead to loss of interest in what is happening and suicide.

Pros and cons of hedonism

Hedonism as a life principle has both pros and cons:

Advantages

Hedonism creates social stability;

Hedonism reduces social tension;

The ideology of consumption stimulates factories and factories to produce new products;

Hedonism contributes to the economic development of a country;

Striving for pleasure, a person learns to set achievable goals;

The desire for pleasure forces a person to develop his abilities, improve his professional skills, and constantly improve his own qualifications;

A hedonist knows how to enjoy little things;

The ideology of consumption forces a person to buy truly high-quality goods;

Hedonia creates in a person an optimistic view of the world;

Predominance of positive mood.

Flaws

The moral and cultural components of hedonists are poorly developed;

People who seek to enjoy life are selfish;

This life position creates difficulties for career growth;

Hedonists ignore the needs of others;

With the ideology of consumption, the risk of developing mental or chemical dependencies increases;

A hedonist is not able to make decisions independently or take responsibility for a common cause;

The ideology of consumption is focused on individualism;

When producing goods and services in large volumes, natural resources are wasted, which are difficult to replenish, and sometimes even impossible;

The ideology of consumption exacerbates class inequality in society; it is aimed at the elite.

Every person is a hedonist to some extent. A hedonistic woman or a hedonistic man will not always be problematic in interpersonal interactions. Features of the manifestation of hedonia in a person are determined by the level of his personal development and psychological maturity.

How to become a hedonist

Like any other life strategy, hedonism is good in moderation. If a person wants to increase the severity of hedonic manifestations, he needs:

Learn to admit your shortcomings and stop reproaching yourself for them.
Find positive moments in any life event. Every failure should become an incentive for self-development, and not a reason for despair.
Learn to correctly formulate goals and develop plans indicating deadlines for achieving one or another intermediate result.
When starting a new business, set yourself up for success.
Learn to enjoy the little things, notice the beauty in ordinary things. To do this, it is worth developing your powers of observation, visiting the theater, art galleries more often, and walking in the park.

Each person develops his own life scenario. The optimal degree of expression of a person’s hedonistic aspirations is also determined by each person himself.

Famous quotes about hedonism

Hedonia as a social phenomenon attracts the attention of many people, as a result of which it was possible to collect quotes about this phenomenon:

“Sometimes a person, in pursuit of pleasure, risks slipping past it” (S. Kirkegaard);
“Hedonism is a vice that does not allow a person to grow spiritually” (W. Scott);
“Many people consider luxury to be the opposite of poverty. But that's not true. Luxury is the antipode of vulgarity” (C. Chanel);
“Only the one who creates material goods and values can be considered free, and not the one who consumes them” (W. James);
“The ideology of consumption is the craziest ideology” (R. Heinlein).

The meaning of hedonism

The main meaning of the teaching is to live a life of pleasure. A person should receive pleasure from each of his actions or what they lead to. Get rid of unhappiness, that which does not bring joy or causes anxiety. In its beautiful manifestation, hedonism is self-care, rejection of behavioral stereotypes, and maximum contact with one’s own self.

Girls talking

The meaning of life for a hedonist is not in obtaining any specific result (house, family, apartment, car), but in the process of life itself.

For example, a house where every item is in its place fills you with happiness. Or, conversely, the absence of this house, the opportunity to stay wherever your heart desires (no matter in a tent or in a hotel), and not a three-ruble note in the center of the capital. It is based on the sensory perception of the world, not the physical. Wealth is in the spiritual, not the material.

“In everyday language, the concept of “hedonism” means an immoral tendency to a riotous, or even vicious, life. This, of course, is not true: Epicurus, the first great theorist of pleasure, viewed the happy life with extreme skepticism: pleasure is experienced by those who do not suffer. Suffering, then, is the core concept of hedonism: we are happy to the extent that we can avoid suffering.”
M. Kundera (source: “Slowness. Original.”)