My beloved collaborator Robert Biswas-Diener wrote a wonderful piece “in praise of hedonic wellbeing.” It’s worth repeating here as misunderstanding the value of pleasure is to pursue an artificial existence.
I tend to view eudaimonic and hedonic sources of happiness as partly distinct from each other but also sharing a good deal of overlap (sometimes like a Venn diagram or even a bell shaped curve), sometimes indistinguishable from each other, sometimes combined and creating a synergistic effect. My observations, professionally and personally, have been that those who create an abundance of eudaimonic joy are also the ones who also get the most deep level pleasure from hedonic sources. These people just seem to be experts in extracting life’s joy. But I don’t see this as much the other way around - those who predominantly seek out hedonic sources seem to feel less overall joy. This is just correlational - not causation. I think dispositional factors can lead some people to seek out the kind of joy they are best able to feel.
I do think we as a society come down heard on those seeking joy. Here is the intersectional issue: it is a high number of people in opportunity-poor environments who are just trying to get by. Which is why I bemoan how white collar scientists look down on these people (indirectly) by claiming they aren't aiming for the more "lofty" form of well-being.
Because we've lost touch with our deepest intuition, so we have to rely on particular rules as guardrails, including the avoidance of pleasure, joy, and so many good things?
I tend to view eudaimonic and hedonic sources of happiness as partly distinct from each other but also sharing a good deal of overlap (sometimes like a Venn diagram or even a bell shaped curve), sometimes indistinguishable from each other, sometimes combined and creating a synergistic effect. My observations, professionally and personally, have been that those who create an abundance of eudaimonic joy are also the ones who also get the most deep level pleasure from hedonic sources. These people just seem to be experts in extracting life’s joy. But I don’t see this as much the other way around - those who predominantly seek out hedonic sources seem to feel less overall joy. This is just correlational - not causation. I think dispositional factors can lead some people to seek out the kind of joy they are best able to feel.
Diane, I agree with everything you write.
I do think we as a society come down heard on those seeking joy. Here is the intersectional issue: it is a high number of people in opportunity-poor environments who are just trying to get by. Which is why I bemoan how white collar scientists look down on these people (indirectly) by claiming they aren't aiming for the more "lofty" form of well-being.
Let me know where I'm off.
Because we've lost touch with our deepest intuition, so we have to rely on particular rules as guardrails, including the avoidance of pleasure, joy, and so many good things?
This is a profound sociological idea that I must play with in the gym this morning.
I’ll look forward to hearing where it leads you! :)