Hedonism and Ethics

In a sense, this is a personal post.
It is a post about the system of values I actually attempt to live my life by.
Attempt being the operative word.

Firstly, I don't know many people who remotely live up to the system of values they espouse, but I at least try to live up to mine.

Secondly of course, whilst most of those close to me subscribe to a greater or lesser degree to my values, society at large doesn't. Since I live in society at large, I have to make some accomodation with it.

Hedonism is often seen as a dirty word. Basically, it means living for pleasure.
If you just lived for your own pleasure and screwed everybody else, indeed it would be.
But Hedonism needn't be that way.

My philosophy is simple.
Clasic Liberals would hold that 'Each man knows best the route to his own happiness.'
It has often been pointed out, there are major problems with that. These routes could well be mutually conflicting, and some people's routes are decidely harmful to everyone else.
So we need to add a condition;
'Each man must be aware of the route to another's pain.'

We all know what makes us happy, and we know what hurts others.
If we can find a life that makes us as happy as life can and hurts others around as us little as possible, then by my view we are living the best life any ethical system of values can demand of us.

I think the first point of true Hedonism- rather than the dirty stereotype- is that it should be genuinely rewarding.
Self-centred is never genuinely rewarding.
The fact remains that the most enjoyable of all pleasures, is interconnection with people.
I had a great weekend last weekend, but the best bit of all was the eight hour long discussion held from 2AM to 10AM Saturday morning between myself and three of my closest most intelligent friends, which covered Capitalist exploitation, the Military, God, the power of Music and its history, evolution, free love, football, Blair's legacy, how much financiers really knew and how much is just educated gambling, this stuff is GREAT.

It is, in itself a reason to be alive.
To compare thoughts on the experience we all share and exchange viewpoints.
That's why I love my mates. They're great.

So to me, personal interconnection of any kind is a truly beautiful thing.
I love the human mind, it's the closest thing there is to Pure God.

But there is more to it than that, for me.

The fact is, owning a six bedroomed home with a flash car and a wife and two kids is not up there in my life plans.
It really doesn't interest me. I have a home, which someone else owns, it's just not the building society.

I could live the way I do till the day I die, as long I had people around me.
I need love and affection, just as everyone else does.
Not everybody might agree with the way I acheive this, but as long as it concerns two consenting adults and no one gets hurt, I don't feel any shame in it.



More importantly, I don't feel the need to aspire to something different.

What I choose to do in my social life, again should be up to me, as long as no one gets hurt.
If I choose, once a month or so to use stimulants at social occasions, surely that's up to me?
I've paid my taxes, paid my bills, surely it's up to me to decide what to do with the rest?

I like my life this way, this is the route to my happiness, and at my age, I think I know what makes me happy.

As long, of course, as I consider the consequences.
That is what ethics is really about.

Making sure we can live together in the best possible way.

Well, here's the way I see it.



Should I be standing at the Pearly Gates one day, in front of our Father and he reads out his long list of charges, here is my answer;

'I lived my life to try to get as much pleasure as I could and give as little pain as I could to others. Where I could, I tried to give pleasure to others, and where I could I tried to minimise their pain.
I am responsible for my decisions, but YOU decided what would make us feel pleasure and what would make us feel pain. YOU made us. If I made bad judgements, I did so on the basis of the feelings YOU gave me.'

I really think sometimes God hides the real answers in religion. Moral codes are the products of their times, designed to keep together the societies they serve.

But really it's just about getting as much as you can out of the life he gave you and spreading as much love as you can.

I think.
Hey, I might be wrong.
But this is the only life I'm ever going to lead here, and I'm not wasting it while I have it.

Live each day as if it is your last.