Is it wrong to live a hedonistic life? Why or why not?

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

What if you could spend your life just having sex when you want with who you want? What if you could have orgies? What if you could have a party every day? Drink the best alcohol, take whatever substances you want? What if every day you could eat a buffet of the best food?

Enjoy a hot tub with beautiful women.

Or work and contribute to society, try to make the world a little better?

Is pursuing endless pleasure a good way to live? We're on earth for a short time, so make it a good time. What do you think? Or is that morally wrong?

[OlderAndWiser]

I do volunteer time to several causes on a regular basis and have for the past 20 years. As for hedonism, I get more satisfaction from a long term relationship than I do from simple pleasures of the flesh. Also, drinking the best alcohol and eating the finest foods every day could cause problems down the road.

I am planning to be an old man one day. I would like to live long enough to see that happen. And when I get there, I would like to be holding hands with the same girl who is currently in my life.

Thanks, but I'll pass on the "endless pleasure" and will opt for the life that gives me pleasure to the end.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It sounds like you practice moderation with a view to ageing gracefully. But if someone were to choose a life of experience pleasure do you think that is a life wasted? Do you think that we have a moral obligation to contribute to the well being of others even if it means sacrificing some of our own pleasure?

[OlderAndWiser]

I think each of us has the right to define the purpose of our life independent of what others may think of our judgment in that regard. As long as our choice does not affirmatively cause any harm to others, no one else has any moral right to influence our decision.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Primum non nocere. Thank you.

[OlderAndWiser]

Thanks for MHO!

[hellacray]

Sounds like a waste of time in my opinion.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Have you ever done anything for your own enjoyment, and was it a waste of time? Are you saying that living your whole life like that would be a waste?

[hellacray]

I personally think living your life just for yourself is very selfish and not to mention you're not doing anything to improve this world or yourself.

I think a big piece of life is to constantly improve and learn. Also of course to give back to the community whether it's as simple as serving tables in a restaurant or coming up with a new invention that could help everybody.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thank you hellacray, I like your philosophy on life.

[humor_me]

While I am not a real religious guy, I do read the bible from time to time. Hedonism / gluttony is a sin for a reason. If you are always wanting the next thing or a lot of it, you will never be happy because you will always be chasing that 'next thing'. Be happy with what you have.
As for gluttony - that just goes in with what I said earlier - too much of anything. That is bad because your 'extra' stuff can be shared with those that don't have what you do.
I have always found that God provides for me EXACTLY what I need and at the EXACT time I need it. It is uncanny.
I am a glutton though because I eat to much. What happens? I am fat and will die an early death if I don't became more disciplined in my love affair with food.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thank you for your view. Those of us who are fortunate to live in developed societies generally have all of our needs met and then some.

[Ameya]

It isn't wrong to be hedonist, the question how much is too much for you? Anything in excess is always harmful. Too much alcohol n smoking harms your body. Random sex n orgies and even too much sex exposes you to maybe STDs but more than that it takes the pleasure part out of sex since it becomes just another activity and not a special thing. After a certain age all this will subside and spirituality is what you'd want since you'll know that the pleasure gained from hedonism is very much limited n monotonous after a while.

[jennifer_bloom]

I would say the girl in the second picture is a lot happier than the guy / girls in the first picture. We were created to serve honourable causes with our life - when do something honourable - our soul lights up with joy. When we do something wasteful and hedonistic - our souls get depressed and bored and unhappy.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thanks Jennifer, it sounds like you believe in a creator who made us for some sort of higher purpose.

[monkeynutts]

Hedonism in its raw and unadulterated for is evil, those that practice kinks have always come across as degenerate, untrustworthy individuals to me. It's definitely one of the issues where greed and gluttony make some people believe they have a right to do what ever they want, regardless of who gets hurt.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Good feedback, so you feel that hedonism breeds entitlement, arrogance and perhaps lack of empathy.

[monkeynutts]

Often the people that practice all the bizarre fetishs, are generally either artsy fartsy types or quite rich, somewhere in between one orgy or another and a drug fueled bender they came up with the idea that sexual freedom means you can have your very own slave, mistress, and band your next door neighbors wife too. My experience being around them is that they are elitist and pretend to have some ethics, hedonism will get you into trouble, that's what I think.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Is hedonism always about orgies and drugs though? What is fishing and boating gave me pleasure and I decided to concentrate on that and nothing else? To live a life doing things that stimulate myself and allow me to experience a sense of pleasure whatever it may be, golf, reading, travelling, eating. Essentially using my time and money only to amuse myself.

[Anonymous]

you probably would have to be rich af first to live completely hedonistic that way with drugs, booze, orgies and crazy kinky sex parties and partying every day, eat at the most expensive and best foods at buffets.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Yes you generally would have to be rich, because most of us have other things like bills to pay and mortgages etc to worry about. So we have to devote our time to work and not pleasure. But imagine if you have won $300 million in the lottery/lotto, now you don't have to work again in your life. Would you concentrate only on things that give you a sense of pleasure or would you still do things that don't give you pleasure?

[Opinion Owner]

I wouldn't be a hedonists and waste all of that money recklessly. I'd always be much more conservative and careful about what I'm gonna be doing with my life. I probably wouldn't work as long as just retire earlier instead.

[TheAceholeSupreme666]

Ever read "A picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde?
A hedonistic lifestyle can be a lot of fun.
It's also very dangerous.
If you burn a candle at both ends of the wick,
It will eventually consume itself until nothing is left.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thank you, I haven't read the book by Oscar Wilde, but I have heard of it. I hav added it to my list of must reads.

[TheAceholeSupreme666]

Enjoy. It's a classic.

[ATuairiscean]

I am not sure - I think it would get boring after a short time

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Yes, perhaps if you have too much of a good thing then after a while you can take it for granted and no longer get the same pleasure from it.

[Jamie05rhs]

I think it's morally wrong because your body is meant to be shared with only one person. But that's my personal view.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Thank you Jamie, it sounds like you're coming from a Christian point of view. But hedonism doesn't only have to be about sex, what about spending your life doing other things that give you pleasure, just for the sake of experiencing pleasure often? Is that a reasonable way to live?

[Jamie05rhs]

Hmm. Well, yes, I'm a Christisn, but I'm not a monk or anything like that. So I have no problem with eating cookies occasionally, and watching television, and swimming. But are those things hedonistic? I don't know.

[passinby]

"hedonistic life?" isn't this currently society? I think that a large cross-section of society already lives hedonistic if not through sex but then materialism or both.

[OnlyYouKnowThat]

Good point, hedonism is not just about sex in my opinion. It essentially comes down to concentrating solely on what gives you pleasure. It could be playing golf all day.

[outside_Toronto]

I don't see how it's wrong if everyone involved consents and it's not affecting anyone else

[Anonymous]

Sounds like it’d be quite an empty and shallow life. Maybe it appeals more to narsasistic types more? It doesn’t sound like it’d be all that.

[Lizardman64]

As long as your not hurting anyone, fuck it.

[jacquesvol]

If your S. O. is OK with it, why not?

[Volvagia]

Nope.