What does it mean to be a hedonistic person?

The key word is Pleasure. Pleasure as the supreme good. The doctrine hedonistunderstood by a sense philosophicalbelieves that the only objective that human beings should pursue on their journey through life is the search for pleasure and enjoyment in every sense.

From the field of philosophy This thesis can be found in the so-called Cyrenaic school, based on the thought of Aristippus of Cyrenewhich emphasized bodily pleasure over mental pleasure.

It also appears in the theories of Epicurus of Samoswhose goal was to avoid suffering by seeking happiness, giving priority to the satisfaction of pleasure it does not excite the sensesbut what refers to the absence of pain.

British philosophers John Stuart Mil, Jeremy Bentham and James Millrepresentatives of utilitarianism of the 17th and 19th centuries, argued that human behavior should aim at social good as the final criterion, seeking everything that promotes the well-being of a greater number of people.

While Michael Onfrayexponent of contemporary philosophy, proposed the idea of ​​a hedonism of being instead of having, thus enjoying, for example, being able to smell, listen or taste…

In psychology, the concept of hedonism appears in different currents. One of these is psychoanalysis, where Sigmund Freud It gives vital importance to the pleasure principle as the fundamental driving force of “It”.

And we see it more clearly in behaviorism too BF Skinner and his reference to reinforcement and punishment as fundamental patterns of learning in humans and animals.

Keys to Hedonism

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, hedonism is the doctrine which establishes pleasure as the supreme purpose of life. But hedonism can take different forms.

Him, for example normative hedonism it’s the idea that pleasure should be main motivation of people. On the other hand, motivational hedonism dictates that pleasure and pain cause people to do what they want.

He selfish hedonism, meanwhile, requires that people consider only their own pleasure when making decisions. And, conversely, altruistic hedonism dictates that creating pleasure for all is the best way to measure whether an action is ethical.

Regardless of the type of hedonism, those who criticize it point out that it is a unreliable guide to moralitysince it ignores other important values ​​such as freedom or fairness in evaluating what can be considered good or bad.

Most hedonists treat pleasure and suffering as if they were variants of hot and cold, that is, they have different degrees of intensity that can be measured on a scale.

Furthermore, hedonism associates the idea of ​​pleasure with the idea of ​​the good, which It can be individual, private, social, spiritual or physical. Hedonistic pleasure does not imply selfish disinterest, but rather drives the search for good based on the absence of pain and suffering.