The Hedonic & The Ascetic

Life requires a balance of pleasure and dedication, of discipline and chaos. Even in a post-scarcity hyper-abundant utopian future, we will need to contend with this balance.

I don’t remember where I learned this concept, but it was many years ago. Hedonism, as you probably know, is about indulging in immediate pleasures. From a strictly biological perspective, you could characterize hedonism as “maximizing for dopamine.”

Hedonism is optimizing your life for dopamine and other biochemical rewards.

Asceticism, on the other hand, is about self-discipline, self-deprivation, and dedication to purpose, mission, or piety. This does not necessarily require taking vows of celibacy, shaving your head, and living in a monastery (but it can!)

The Ascetic Life on the left, the Hedonic Life on the right.

It’s about both

A life of pure indulgence quickly becomes saturated. Recall the song Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles. Pure pleasure, 24/7, will burn you out just as much as pure toil.

“Men are more satiated by an unvarying evil than by good things.” ~ Livy

No one wants to live a Sisyphean life without hope of reward or respite. When the Soviet Dream collapsed along with the Soviet Union, suicides, heart attacks, and alcoholism (deaths from despair) also skyrocketed. Hope for the future is requisite for human flourishing. If your dreams die, and the future looks bleak, you give up.

Source: https://www.primescholars.com/articles/suicides-in-russia-and-belarus-a-comparative-analysis-of-trends-104169.html

Life is to be lived, is it not? Carpe Diem. Or, the more modern version: YOLO. Yet we are caught in this odd tension between the hedonic treadmill of consumerism and attention engineering set against the backdrop of financial worship and a guilt-based culture that coerces you into feeling shame for not working harder, learning more, and taking better care of yourself. We worship youthful beauty, monetize, sell it, and then shame ourselves for being addicted to porn.

Statistically speaking, most of you reading this (if you’re male) have watched porn regularly. Consider this: you and I have witnessed, consumed, and indulged in far more erotic material than the vast majority of men throughout history could even dream of. We have, at our fingertips, material that would be the envy of the most indulgent Roman Emperors or the sexy parties at Versailles.

Are we happier for it?

All measurements indicate a resounding “no, not in the least.” We’re more anxious and depressed than ever, and it’s worse for the youngest.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/depression-rates-by-age-young-people-2019-3

When you see a trend this pervasive across an entire nation, something has gone horribly wrong. The first digital natives are in the worst mental health. Us Millennials (my cohort) are in relatively good shape by comparison. And if you remember what it was like to be a Millennial during 9/11 and the Great Recession holy shit we hit rock bottom and broke out the jackhammers!

Now, I’m not going to say that pleasure and distraction on tap are the sole cause of all this. Nor am I going to victim-blame. None of this was done maliciously. Well, except maybe by Facebook, but that’s a different story.

Source: https://x.com/Liv_Boeree/status/1429856182592806921

The above tweet encapsulates why we’re so angry, depressed, and anxious perfectly. The digital superorganism of the Internet and capitalism has learned to feed off the Darkness. Doom narratives, outrage, fear. My generation only had to contend with Mean World Syndrome, but now the forces of Moloch have systemized and optimized for despair.

It’s like in Monsters, Inc when they are feeding off fear, but then realize that laughter and joy are more powerful, if not harder to cultivate.

I remember telling a friend of mine, who was caught up at the tail end of his QLC (Quarter-Life Crisis) because he had the world before him and just wanted more. I told him the following:

You can be anything you want, but you cannot be everything you want.

I feel like this quotation encapsulates the balance between hedonism and asceticism. You can have anything, but you can never have everything. We must pick and choose, balance the pros and cons of every option.

A Simple Solution

I’m not going to hand-wring about how women’s equality is the problem and that sexual liberty is behind the downfall of Western civilization. Nor am I going to advocate for the repeal of the 19th amendment. Everyone in this regressive epistemic tribe is doing their best. I call them “regressives” to differentiate them from conservatives. Regressives are a sort of social luddite movement, where they are (correctly) horrified by the social trends we see today, but rather than moving forward, they advocate solely for moving backwards to “traditional values”, which is often merely a shorthand for patriarchy and religious authoritarianism.

While I am about to propose a relatively simple solution, it’s not a systemic solution. We can be angry at the world, but the world will not change for us. Instead, we must be the change we wish to see in the world. Social change starts with individuals, and grows into grassroots movements.

My proposal is to engage with frameworks such as Roger Walsh’s TLCs (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes). I made a whole video about it here:

I learned about this framework many years ago, and I’ve used it to balance my own life. To find a more meaningful life, and to take care of my needs. We can continue to talk about hedonism and asceticism but these are inaccessible, abstract philosophical concepts.

I’ve been living mindfully with the TLCs for quite a long time, along with concepts such as ikigai and asceticism vs hedonism. So far, they have worked pretty well for me.

What is the TLC Framework?

It’s a simple framework with eight pillars.

1. Spirituality (transcendent meaning)

2. Time in Nature

3. Recreation and Hobbies

4. Rest and Relaxation

5. Diet and Nutrition

6. Exercise and Activity

7. Relationships and Connection

8. Giving Back and Service

Source: https://www.drnick.ca/blog/2014/5/15/8-ways-to-achieve-optimal-health

Whether or not we invent AGI in the next few years, and whether or not we achieve post-scarcity hyper-abundance post-labor-economics or a Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism future, whether we have a cyberpunk future or a solarpunk future, every individual throughout the world will need to contend with their own mind, spirit, and biology. TLC is a simple evidence-based and objectively easy framework to improve your life’s satisfaction and happiness.

I’ll be teaching all of this and more in my New Era Pathfinder’s community in the coming weeks. Check it out here: https://www.skool.com/newerapathfinders/about

This community is super engaged with weekly webinars, a community forum, plus courses created by yours truly. At the time of writing, we’re about to crack 300 Pathfinders.

I provide regular challenges, “homework” and prompts to get your philosophical, creative, and technological juices flowing.

I hope you’ll consider joining my Pathfinders community. It’s quickly becoming a braintrust of explorers and seekers who are here on the same journey as you.

Cheers everyone