Each of us, whether we are aware of it or not, has its own life core, a certain worldview for the purpose of human existence and its own set of life values, which we put above all else. Freedom of choice, features of the cultural environment and the eternal search for life values have led to the emergence of many subcultures, including Goths, emo, trash, hedonists, etc. etc. The latter in our time comprise a rather large group, and therefore we will talk about them in the first place.
The history of the appearance of this worldview
A hedonist is a person for whom the main goal in life and the highest good is to receive pleasure and enjoyment. Accordingly, he is trying in every possible way to avoid everything that can bring suffering. This life position has a very rich history. The beginning of the doctrine substantiating this type of worldview appeared around 400 BC in ancient Greece. At that time Aristippus of Cyrene lived there, who first developed and preached this teaching. Initially it was believed that the hedonist is a person for whom all that brings pleasure is good. It follows from this that the priority of the needs of an individual who shares this doctrine will always be higher than social institutions that turn into conventions that limit his freedom. This point of view often led to extremes. So, among the followers of Aristippus there were those who believed that the hedonist was the one for whom any pleasure was justified, and this explained all their actions aimed at obtaining pleasure.
The wise Socrates criticized this extreme. He recognized that pleasures play an important role in life, but at the same time he divided them into good and bad, as well as true and false. Aristotle did not recognize them at all for the good and believed that they themselves were not worthy of life goals. Despite such criticism, the hedonist school did not cease to exist and was developed in the form of a moderate version proposed by Epicurus.
This Greek philosopher taught that only necessary and natural pleasures that do not destroy the equanimity of the human soul are worthy of the goal of the aspirations of the individual. In the Renaissance, the soft Epicurean version of this movement mainly prevailed. And since the end of the 18th century, hedonism is gradually acquiring a new form - utilitarianism. Its peculiarity is that the moral value of an act or behavior is determined by utility.
Why do many people react negatively to hedonism
It is unlikely that anyone will argue that everything is good only in moderation. The same rule applies to enjoyment. Want to know who a real hedonist is? This is a person who is too passionate about getting physiological pleasures. He overeats junk food, drinks alcohol that destroys his body and mind, smokes tobacco and is completely irresponsible in sex.
The classic portrait looks like this: a gorged hedonist is excommunicated to induce vomiting for the possibility of continuing the feast. Hedonists are rather selfish, but at the same time they easily converge if they feel that this can bring them some benefit, for example, to make a career.