Here’s a word for you: hedonism.

If there is a list of words in the English language that can conjure images in one’s head, hedonism should definitely be on it. Merriam-Webster defines hedonism as the following:  

When I hear “hedonism”, I immediately assume it is referencing unsavory or very adult activities (not assuming the two are related). Essentially, I think of Futurama’s Hedonismbot. The actual application of hedonism as a theory is less risqué. In fact, it is a common misperception that hedonism focuses solely on the derivation of pleasure in the physical sense. Britannica, in its entry for “hedonism”, calls out the misrepresentation and emphasizes:

Practically all hedonists recognize the existence of pleasures derived from fame and reputation, from friendship and sympathy, from knowledge and art. Most have urged that physical pleasures are not only ephemeral in themselves but also involve, either as prior conditions or as consequences, such pains as to discount any greater intensity that they may have while they last.

There is a bit to unpack here. First, I shamefully admit that I had to check the meaning of “ephemeral”. It is one of those words that I have seen many times and, for whatever reason, was fine not understanding because I could pick up enough from context clues. For the record, it means “lasting a very short time”. I am going to check off unraveling THAT mystery as an accomplishment for the day. Moving on, the second nugget to digest is that hedonistic pursuits should be looking beyond the physical, where the pursuit of maximum pleasure can come from all areas of life, with the aforementioned examples of “fame and reputation, from friendship and sympathy, from knowledge and art.” I have also seen examples of deriving pleasure from food and drink. So, theoretically in a moment in time, you could be sitting outside watching a sunset while having a drink and highly engaging conversation with a friend or significant other, and that would be peak pleasure, the most pleasurable thing you could be doing in that moment. That does not sound risqué at all. In fact, the deep engagement of senses and faculties could extend far beyond an ephemeral moment to elevate the experience far beyond anything physical.

Uncovering the unexpected mysteries of “hedonism” has led me to applying more thought and following a greater philosophical rabbit hole than I would have expected. The rabbit hole dictates I mention at least one branch of hedonistic pursuit that you may have come across and not realized what it was (I certainly did not), and that is Epicureanism. From the same Britannica article, Epicureanism stems from Epicurus who believed, like a stout hedonist, that pleasure was good above all else, but the pursuit must be guided by reason, or as he is quoted in the entry, “Of all this, the beginning, and the greatest good, is prudence.” This aligns with how doctors advise their patients, or maybe even how parents instruct their children: everything in moderation.