Hedonism is cunning

Pleasure derived from the immaterial

It took a wise person to define the term hedonism. His name was Aristippus.

It doesn’t take a wise person to know that hedonism as a recipe for happiness is a recipe for disaster.

Hedonism focuses on pleasure. Pleasure focuses on sensations that feel good. Any sensations that feel bad are considered pain and are to be avoided.

To pursue hedonism is to be delusional. To pursue hedonism is ironically to guarantee disappointment and therefore pain and suffering.

Are you like me, and are catching yourself in shock with how obvious yet how necessary this reminder of key concepts is for you right now?

But don’t be too quick to take a sigh of relief.

It’s easy to see that hedonism is tied with consumerism. There is no such thing as good or bad consumerism. Consumerism is just about consuming stuff.

If you are buying a shit ton of stuff at a thrift store, you are equally a consumer as someone buying a shit ton of stuff at Walmart. If you are spending $5K on a yoga retreat in Costa Rica, you’re equally a consumer as someone who is spending $5K on an all-inclusive adults-only resort in Cabo.

Why can’t everyone make good consumer choices like me? Here’s a guess: life is freaking hard for the majority of people and their last thought is how they can reuse their peanut butter glass jar to save the environment. In other words…

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” ― Brad Meltzer

So then let’s go beyond consumerism. After all, we are above such shallow pleasures.

Instead, you may have boycotted Black Friday. Or have a rule of flying no more than twice per year. Or supporting business owners of a certain race. Or going to all the protests that are within a convenient radius.

What led to such decisions?

Of course, one reason can be because you thought about it from first principles and you make these decisions based on what makes scientific sense to you.

But hedonism is becoming cunning. You don’t have to consume from the material world to derive pleasure.

An inflated sense of being correct, right, good…aka an inflated ego gives us the same pleasure buying a limited-release item does. No, it probably gives us more pleasure.

Identity signaling is a source of self-pride. Self-pride is the most cunning form of hedonism. It is also the most addictive form of hedonism.

The supply of opportunities to acquire self-pride through identity signaling is drastically increasing.

Self-deception is becoming easier. As a result, self-honesty is becoming harder.

Learn self-honesty to avoid doing things you don’t believe in.