Utopia, Hedonia, Eudomania, Ataraxia (Oh Yeah)

Thomas More’s Utopia (1518). Photograph: The Granger Collection, New York

The word “utopia” is a pun on the Greek ou-topos meaning ‘no place‘ and eu-topos meaning ‘good place‘ (British Library). Thomas More (1478 – 1535) came up with it for his book, Utopia, which is about an island uncorrupted by greed that has qualities of perfection (read: Utopia).

More was a lawyer, judge and Catholic who practiced self-flagellation and wore a skin-irritating hair shirt. He saw Protestantism as a threat to society and served as Lord Chancellor of England until retirement, but then he irritated King Henry VIII by not attending Henry’s wedding and by not acknowledging Henry as head of the Church of England (source).

“Take that for irritating the king!” and the crowd went wild (Thomas More Trial, 1535).

More described European society as a place where, “Idle monarchs and nobles seek to increase their own wealth and power at the expense of the people, who are left in poverty and misery;” therefore, More’s utopia is “communal, allowing its people to easily meet their needs” (source).

But then we know where communal living gets us sometimes. Look at injustices in the former Soviet Union or wealth disparity in China which is as bad as anywhere.

source: Making Billions: The Richest People in the World (2020)

Nothing has changed since Thomas More’s time except for the names (and a lot of pollution). Instead of Czar Nicholas II, we have Vladimir Putin. Instead of Rockefeller, we have Bezos and Gates, among others.

Is anyone surprised?

Surely not.

Illustration by O.O.P.S.

Our problem isn’t political, it’s psychological. We can complain about unfairness, but who among us wouldn’t enjoy being rich? The drive to feel important is strong.

Cue music:

Trouble is, studies show, when people even think about money, it makes them selfish (see: Mere Thought of Money Makes People Selfish).

Psychologist Paul Piff has done studies proving selfishness occurs as a result of having more than others (see: The Science of Greed).

In one study two people played Monopoly and by the flip of a coin, one person was given an unfair advantage that made them rich. As the game went on, the “rich” started to act dominant and in the end, despite advantages clearly given, they saw their win as a result of ability.

Piff has found that people are willing to put others down to put themselves up. “A sense of power and addiction gets fueled more and more with the gaining of money” (source).

We may enjoy watching billionaires get their money taken by “f*** society” in the show Mr. Robot (2015-2019), but we know, if we were a billionaire, we too would probably think we’re special and cling to our money.

Trump appears with other greedy billionaires in Mr. Robot.

But then, how can knowing people are unfair make life beautiful? Grumbling about injustice doesn’t make things just! Feeling hostility doesn’t help us fix things. It just drains our energy and keeps us focused on problems instead of solutions.

A perfect world is perceived as impossible, so why bother? Utopian is considered “visionary reform that tends to be impossibly idealistic” (Britannica). You’re more likely to see a dystopia (a place of great suffering and injustice) than a utopia. Dystopias seem more doable.

Some people even say we’re in a dystopia now (see: Dystopia is Realism: The Future Is Here If You Look Closely).

See: The Miracle of Kindness

Journalist and Presbyterian minister, Chris Hedges, paints a dystopian picture: “The issue before us is death. Not only our individual death, which is more imminent for some of us this morning than others, but our collective death. We have begun the sixth great mass extinction, driven by our 150-year binge on fossil fuel….” (Confronting the Culture of Death).

Most of our problems individually and collectively are the result of hedonia or hedonism—from Greek hēdonē meaning “pleasure.”

Our inclination is to enjoy and seek escape by indulging in TV, video games, golf, food, drugs, drinking—whatever it takes to detach from what is displeasing (see also: Facing a Pine-scented Breeze).

Image by Jon Kudelka

Trouble is, for some of us, no sooner is a pleasure over when it’s wanted again (just ask any addict). The ancients knew this. Aristotle (384-323 BC) said, “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self” (source).

Perturbed people perturbing.

For there is a danger in pleasure when people do what they please—especially when there are 7.9 billion of us (see Worldometer). By focusing on personal pleasure we put our self before others and neglect responsibilities.

Moreover, some people are susceptible to the disorder of psychopathy which is a lack of care for others, extreme egotism and a failure to learn from experience (source).

What do you think?

Get to know yourself with this interesting test:

Measure your degree of psychopathy with the:

Psychopathy Spectrum Test.

The philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) promoted pleasure but not a materialistic money-oriented version because it lacks prudence, as in, “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason.” Epicurus taught that “grabbing easy worldly pleasures is a mistake because ultimately they don’t satisfy” (source). His goal was the pleasure of not suffering.

The Roman Stoic Epictetus (c. 50–135 AD) seems to agree saying, “Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well” (The Enchiridion).

This is where the Greek eudomania (U-de-‘mO-nēa), ataraxia (at-a-rax-ia) and “Oh Yeah!” comes in.

Eudomania means “good spirit,” or “happiness” in English. Aristotle said that eudaimonia is “the only human good that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end)” (Britannica).

From eudomania comes ataraxia which is “tranquility” or serene calmness “untroubled by mental or emotional disquiet” (Merriam-Webster).

For ancient philosophers like Epicurus, Aristotle and Epictetus (along with most religious traditions), serene calmness or peace of mind is the ultimate pleasure, but it only comes by way of practicing self-control and virtues like justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance.

Source: Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Character Education

Here’s the kicker:

You can be in a good spirit in a good place here and now! No need for dope, booze, or anything in particular. You don’t do anything but watch how thoughts come and go. Watch how thoughts stir up emotions that can rob you of joy and trouble the world.

Forget concepts and look around. We’re in a utopia now. It’s called Earth. Only, we don’t see it as it is (Anaïs Nin, 1961).

We’re blinded by profit margins and personal desires, but if you practice virtues like prudence as advised by anyone wise, you can enjoy simple moments of beauty, tranquility and transcendence until you too get it and say, ” Ooooh Yeah.”

Enjoy.

Facing A Pine-scented Breeze

“Stop every now and then. Just stop and enjoy. Take a deep breath. Relax…” (source).

And if you asked, “In two words or less, what is a philosophy of enjoyment?”

Answer: ‘Live well,’ ‘enjoy life,’ or simply, ‘enjoy.’ 

Enjoy (v.):

1. “If you enjoy something, you find pleasure and satisfaction in doing it or experiencing it (see also: And the Waiter said, “Enjoy”).
2. If you enjoy yourself, you do something that you like doing or you take pleasure in the situation that you are in.
3. If you enjoy something such as a right, benefit, or privilege, you have it.”

This might sound simplistic and possibly dangerous, so you ask,

“If I or anyone else named I adopted this “Enjoy life” philosophy, wouldn’t that mean living in the “pursuit of happiness” like it says in the United States Declaration of Independence?

The answer is, ‘Yes, but it doesn’t take much to enjoy life’ (see also: happy animals running, jumping and playing).

To which you say,

“In the phrase “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” doesn’t “pursuit” mean “chasing” happiness and isn’t that just hedonism? (as in, a bad thing).” 

hedonism (n.)

1844 as “self-indulgence,” from Greek hēdone “pleasure” (see hedonist) + -ism.

“… that the pleasure of the moment is the only possible end, that one kind of pleasure is not to be preferred to another, and that a man should in the interest of pleasure govern his pleasures and not be governed by them; hence, that ethical doctrine which regards pleasure or happiness as the highest good. … Egoistic hedonism considers only the pleasure of the individual; altruistic hedonism takes into account that of others. [Century Dictionary]

Hedonism says that pleasure is what motivates us. Only pleasure, our own or another’s, has worth and only displeasure⁠ has the opposite of worth (source).

Pursuing happiness might be encouraged, but to most people, the pleasures pursued by hedonists are indecent, indulgent and possibly sinful (at least, to the religious).

The common myth is that happiness is about having more good times than bad. The more good times, the more happy overall, but it isn’t about the quantity of ups over downs, but how smoothly we ride them.

Everything is changing all the time. From one moment to the next, good things and bad things happen to everyone. Those who are the happiest don’t have more good times than bad, they just don’t cling to the “good” or run from the “bad” like most people.

They appreciate every minute for what it is knowing it’s not going to last forever (see also: “This Too Shall Pass“).

Surveys show happiness is the number one thing people say they want (money is number two) but the biggest challenge is: “Not knowing what I want to do” (source).

People don’t realize they don’t have to do anything to enjoy living. Try holding your breath and see what happens.

Time slows right down!

After a minute or two, you’ll enjoy life by simply breathing!

(It’s the little things.)

Enjoy.

Enjoy A “You-day-mon-I-am!” Inspiration

This is the world. The world is as it is. It is not as it isn’t. The world is an interconnected balancing act. Some people say humans came from the hand of God. Some say they came from aliens or from rocks, water and sunshine, but any way you slice it, it’s really quite amazing.

Cue music: Ravel, “Bolero”.

Like alternating current (AC) and direct current (dc), the world is positive and negative. Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. One thing leads to another on the train of days we call life. We hope something incredible will happen—if we’re lucky, if we’re blessed, if a genie grants our wish—but magic doesn’t come from outside.

It is an interaction.

As Sir Isaac Newton observed, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” which means, “The bigger the push, the bigger the push back” (Propulsion). It’s like ping pong.

Everything is put into place and goes from there. There are good people. There are bad people. Sometimes good people are bad. Sometimes bad people are good. They’re inconsistent and situational even when they think they’re being spiritual (and/or reasonable).

The world is beautiful and horrible at intervals. We oscillate between positive and negative emotions every minute on our way to enjoying. Throughout history it hasn’t just been girls who wanna have fun. It’s everyone.

Everything humans do revolves around surviving and enjoying. They go together like bread and butter. It’s hard to enjoy if you’re not surviving and if you’re surviving without enjoying, what’s the point?

High-income countries have the highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (source).

That could explain why suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the world. Globally, one million people commit suicide each year (source). 44,193 Americans commit suicide each year and of those, many are drug and alcohol related (source). 

Party on, Dude.

The trick is to enjoy, but not all enjoyment is equal. Behind the eyes of another is a consciousness that is as you are. The workings of another’s mind is reflected in words and actions. If you’re not enjoying, you could do some rewiring. Neurons that “fire together, wire together” (source). Everyone’s brain is capable of physical change.

Neurons firing at the same time develop a physical connection. Through self-awareness and mindful practice you can structure yourself sane, sensible, and not prone to weeping.

We all want to experience as many joy filled experiences as we can. Las Vegas and Disneyland were built on that desire. It’s why we love eating doughnuts (as opposed to just looking at them).

Let’s get started.

In this age of entertainment, where people are immersed in computer generated fantasy or escape through drugs and alcohol, it’s interesting to see that people are still singing, “I can’t get no satisfaction. ‘Cause I try and I try and I try,” like Mick Jagger (“Satisfaction”).

Why is there no satisfaction?

Everyone is searching for something but what that “something” is is sometimes uncertain. Watch reality TV and you’ll see how messed up people can be. It’s as if everyone should be assigned a psychologist at birth to guide them through life.

The ancient Greeks proposed two opposing philosophical traditions for how to find happiness. Aristotle (384-322 BC) called them: (1) eudaimonia (you-day-monia)—right action leading to “well-being” and the “good life,” and (2) hedonic enjoyment—the pursuit of pleasure from sensual self-indulgence.

Eudiamonia combines “eu” meaning “good” and “daimon” meaning “spirit” (“god” or “godlike”). Eudiamonia literally means “having a good guardian spirit”.

Socrates’ daimon.

In psychology daimonic refers to one’s drive towards individuation—the things that distinguish you from everybody else.

Eudiamonia asks you to live in accordance with your daimon or “true self” and hedonism asks you to enjoy an experience where you believe you’re getting what you want and feel the pleasant affects of that belief (source).

But ideas change over time. Daemonic is now associated with a fiend motivated by a spiritual force that is evil, but daimonia is really about a feeling of unrest that forces you into an unknown that leads you to “self-destruction and/or self-discovery” (source).

In “Two Conceptions of Happiness…” psychologist Alan S. Waterman writes, “The daimon is an ideal in the sense of being an excellence, a perfection toward which one strives and, hence, it can give meaning and direction to one’s life” (p. 678).

Socrates and Plato thought human beings wanted eudaimonia more than anything and Aristotle—that eudimoniac!—rejected hedonism saying, “The many, the most vulgar, seemingly conceive the good and happiness as pleasure… they appear completely slavish, since the life they decide on is a life for grazing animals” (Aristotle, 1985, p. 7).

But Epicurus—the hedonist who was like Jesus (Christians and Epicureans shared social practices)—put the two opposites together. He didn’t advocate pursuing any and every pleasure. He identified eudaimonia (the flourishing life) with the life of pleasure and freedom from distress (Eudaimonia).

To shape a state of mind that is eudaimonic, here’s what to do:

First, cultivate virtue through: (1) apatheia (literally “being without passions” like a stoic) and (2) ataraxia (literally being “without trouble” or “tranquillity” like a hedonist). Second, stop thinking like a critic. Third, sing, “Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh. In the summertime, when the weather is hot. You can stretch right up and touch the sky” (“In the Summertime”).

The world—Reality—is a hand in your face waving, “Hey Dude! Wake up Dude! (Reality sounds a lot like Keanu Reeves). “See that sky? That’s me! See those trees? That’s me too, Dude! If you see the world, you’re in the world. You’re the world seeing itself! WHOA! That’s heavy, Dude.”

Reality answers every question. It speaks every minute. Even when you’re sleeping, reality sleeps with you. The wheels are in motion—spinning, spinning.

Reality says, “Feel the grass under your feet. Incredible, right? The reality of your feet and grass feeling is reality happening. You don’t have to believe there are flowers. There are flowers! There are hummingbirds, rhinoceros, butterflies and robins fluffing feathers under sprinklers.” 

But like in dream where all the roads are congested as you choke on exhaust feeling “stuck in the middle” on this “eve of destruction”, is there anything you can do? Of course there is!

Do nothing.

It’s an effortless Chinese wu wei non-doing in harmony kind of thing. Practice not doing and enjoy yourself in not so doing. It doesn’t mean you’re a slug. It  means to sing, “Don’t worry about a thing because everything’s gonna be all right” (“Don’t Worry About A Thing”). Let muscular tension go. Relax and let time pass (see also: Enjoyment and Enlightenment and A New Way of Looking).

Just duck it. Duck it all anyway. Like a duck in a pond, float without purpose or boredom. Let your face go slack like an idiot and enjoy it. Float with euphoria and swim in living. The whole environment is the duck that’s in it.

“Quack. Quack.”

Feel aware of yourself feeling aware in the world you’re in and like Daniel Boone sing, “Hey, hey, hey, it’s a beautiful day” (“Beautiful Sunday”).

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy.

References

Aristotle. (1985). Nicomachean ethics. (T. Irwin, Trans.). Indianapolis,
IN: Hackett.

Waterman, A. S. (1990). Personal expressiveness: Philosophical and
psychological foundations. Journal of Mind and Behavior, 11,47-74.

Hedonism, Selfishness And A Womb With A View

When it comes to pleasure of the simple sort that is neither decadent nor salacious, there are two kinds of people. You have people who do not (and will not) enjoy anything (no matter what) and you have people for whom personal pleasure is the only thing that matters even if their enjoyment is at the expense of another.

Most people fall somewhere in-between. This is called hedonism–from the Greek word “hedone” meaning “pleasure.” Most people associate hedonism with narcissism and extreme self-involvement, but that is misguided.

Hedonism isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Enjoying a cup of tea after you rescue 20 puppies from a terrible master is an example of hedonism.

According to science it’s really quite simple: to enjoy life all you have to do is create the mood for it and it is you yourself who creates your mood. Research shows that your brain sends “chemical neurotransmitters to tell you your mood” (source).

It’s all about serotonin and dopamine. 

Serotonin is a “neurotransmitter of pleasure and enjoyment” (source) and to get serotonin it’s as simple as going for a walk (source).

Dopamine is “in the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment” (Psychologist World) and to get dopamine all you have to do is: 1) eat right, 2) sleep well and 3) move that body! (wikiHow).

Mungo Jerry explains: “We’re no threat, people. We’re not dirty, we’re not mean. We love everybody but we do as we please. When the weather’s fine, we go fishin’ or go swimmin’ in the sea. We’re always happy. Life’s for livin’ yeah, that’s our philosophy”  In the Summertime. 

Just another day.

Preacher says: “Hedonism is narcissism. A hedonist is one who lives a self-dominated and self-focused life. A hedonist is committed to satisfy, by all means, the lusts, urges, and appetites of his sinful nature” (Hedonism: A Heart Problem).

But the original Greek meaning of hedonist is just “pleasure, delight, enjoyment” (Etymology Dictionary).

The trouble isn’t with “pleasure, delight or enjoyment.” The trouble is with human beings.

No matter how incredible an experience is, you will still return to how happy you normally feel.

That’s the hedonic treadmill.

“Help!” shouts Bob. See treadmill scene from Lost In Translation.

“Expectations and desires rise in tandem” (Wikipedia).

Bootlegger Nucky Thompson in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) looks back on his life and explains, “The first time I got a nickel tip, I thought the world is great. . . . But a dime would be better. Then I wanted a quarter.”

That’s the treadmill.

Hedonism holds that things are good as long as they are pleasant, and bad as long as they are painful. From the moment of birth, the good for each individual is that person’s pleasure. If you look back on your life and deem it a good one, then you yourself will have enjoyed it, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t pooh, pigs and wind!
Philosopher Robert Nozick (1938-2002) posed the following thought experiment. Imagine scientists have a machine – picture the Matrix or virtual reality – that simulates real life while guaranteeing only pleasurable experiences, never pain. The catch is, you have to leave reality behind.

Nozick asks, “If you were given the choice to sign up for that kind of existence, would you?”

We may not get what we enjoy. We may sacrifice freedom to look after babies, do jobs we don’t like or go to parties and funerals no matter what we’d rather be doing.

“You know, we’re living in a SOCIETY!” shouts George (see video clip)

For 300 years ancient Epicureans emphasized moderation over mindless hedonism because extravagant pleasures make us their slaves. Happiness takes courage, moderation, and other virtues (IEP).

“Plain fare gives as much pleasure as a costly diet” (Epicurus’s Letter to Menoeceus).

Bill Murray said, “The more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything: the better you are with your loved ones, the better you are with your enemies, the better you are at your job, the better you are with yourself” (Bill Murray’s Advice).

In the last analysis what makes life worth living is your enjoyment of it.

Joey from “Friends” (1994-2004) nailed it. “Look,” he said, “there’s no unselfish good deed… That’s because all people are selfish… selfless good deeds don’t exist!” (see video clip).

That’s psychological egoism. It says we’re always motivated by self-interest (IEP). The question is: Who is this self that is so self-interested?

The obvious answer is: I’m so-and-so; I like such-and-such; I hate this-and-that. But could this be a limited self-interested perspective?

When someone says, “My temper got the better of me. I didn’t mean it,” or “My lust got the better of me. I couldn’t help it,” who is doing that? who is that I? (What do you think?)

Is it: A) What you do for enjoyment and/or employment? or *B) Who you think you are when you’re aware of what you’re doing while you’re doing it? *Note: If you picked B), you may be in a process of self transformation.

Delight in that happy feeling.

In “The Enormous Womb” (1941) Henry Miller wrote, “As far as I can make out, there is never anything but womb. First and last there is the womb of Nature; then there is the mother’s womb; and finally there is the womb in which we have our life and being and which we call the world. It is the failure to recognize the world as womb which is the cause of our misery” (p. 94).

Henry Miller says there are people alive and moving who live in bliss. Such people are less unconscious. They’re different because of their attitude. They accept the world as womb, not tomb. They don’t regret what’s past or fear what’s coming. They live in a state of awareness without fear simply by adopting an attitude — and so can you.

Now… go! Relax and be happy in your relaxing.