-several hedonists here have admited that they sometimes sacrific short term indulgence for long range happiness, same as everyone else. Otherwise hedonists would be unemployed and obese. -what's special about hedonism? why use that label? Everyone seeks pleasure over pain including staunch Christians. Only Buddhists seem to reject it. Normal everyday people don't. -no job is hedonistic except a woman who tries on shoes and gets to keep them or a ferari tester or something. Jobs typically require serious tasks like proofreading or photocopying. It's not fun. But we have to do it. So what's special about calling oneself a hedonist?
Nothing that I see. I don't necessarily call myself a hedonist, but I do feel special in the sense that I am conscious that one of my favorite sources of pleasure is work. Therefore hedonistic. I haven't done heroin (only heroines), but it would certainly be my second choice. Couldn't deal with the aesthetic effects of track marks.
I wasn't, but just googled it. Thanks for mentioning it. It reminds me of a quote by the former National Secretary of Health in Brazil, with whom my mom worked and she quotes: "Nothing beats work." When I think about it, pleasure has limits that when reached give you diminished returns: the more you have sex, the less satisfying it is, etc. Furthermore, sources of pleasure aren't always available. Especially if you're 5'6" like myself. What is always available to me is: work. Creative work. But I still believe work gives you diminished returns. The longer you work uninterruptedly, the less productive you are past a given limit. That's when procuring immediate pleasure may whet my appetite for work again. Why did you mention the hedonist paradox?
kind of depends on how you define both pleasure and work. pleasure doesn't come from self serving idleness. i'll grant that much. and i know many people labour under the delusion that it does. but it certainly doesn't come from slaving away, motivated by non-gratifying emotional attachments, which serve only to support the destruction of most people's access to real sources of gratification either. who does that? you might ask. most people actually. those who can't be bothered to question or look into anything. believing the lie they've been told, that using logic and reason, is somehow a bad thing, when in reality, it is the only thing that can avoid the causing of harm.
well there's nothing non-positive in designing for worst case tolerance. nor in allowing that best case can sometimes happen.
