Hedonism

From Unfocusgroup.org

Originated by Brendan Fernandes

Hedonism is a specific form of humanism. It is the belief that pleasure is the foundation for morality.

A hedonistic viewpoint asserts that human pleasure and happiness should be the starting point upon which to base our moral sensibilities. It is closely related to utilitarianism.

Hedonism is deemed by some as a vacuous philosophy, but it is far from it. Whereas much of society is involved in constant hand-wringing and political correctness, a hedonistic viewpoint emphasises real virtues such as happiness, satisfaction, quality of life. It's not about being trendy or intellectual.

It's funny looking back at periods of history such as the 1980s, when the hedonistic "work hard, play hard" mentality was predominant. Society has lost something since then; instead, it is now paralysed by self-doubt. A true hedonist will believe in living life to the full, and spreading happiness, helping others and working hard to make our world a better place.

This is not to say that characteristics such as moral virtue have no place in a hedonistic worldview: it's just that they are means to an end rather than the end in itself. This is in strong contrast to some religious viewpoints that assert that life is about obeying the word of god, for example.

Hedonism is the assertion that people should have the best quality of life. Hedonists promote excellence.

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