Which is more appealing to you: a life of pleasure or a life of purpose?

SaBahRub · 2020-11-15T00:21:23+00:00

Porque no los dos?

Barely-moral · 2020-11-15T00:53:49+00:00

I don't see why hedonisitic pleasure and purpose are opposites.

I don't see why hedonistic pleasure and virtue are opposites.

The only reason I think I might choose purpose over pleasure is because I tend to pick virtue (follow a personal code of ethics) and long term goals over short term/immediate pleasure.

But both my personal code of ethics and my long term goals end up being related to my own pleasure.

cult_angel · 2020-11-15T00:15:43+00:00

A life unbothered and unknown, preferably by myself in a lofty northwestern pacific cabin unaffected by the woes of society and the terrifying ordeal of being known.

TheJim66 · 2020-11-15T00:30:05+00:00

For the sake of the convo I will say pleasure. I know there is no meaning to life so enjoying what life has to offer and finding personal happiness is the best move.

However in reality true long term happiness can usually only be achieved by living according to your personal virtues and purpose.

Tldr, the meaning of life is to get what YOU want out of it.

Male God-Emperor, 25ish

merlinscalculator · 2020-11-15T01:04:01+00:00

A life of pleasure for me wouldn’t even involve much sex but it would definitely involve a lot of drugs. I’d have such a messy lifestyle, I don’t think the amount of sex I have would change though. Maybe I’d have more gay sex.

I guess I’m leaning towards a life of purpose. But that alone sounds boring as fuck. It’s all about that balance.

RepresentativeSwan1 · 2020-11-15T00:22:52+00:00

Pleasure. I don't care about "purpose".

25, male.

Atlas__B__Shruggin · 2020-11-15T01:21:26+00:00

a life of contemplation

2020-11-15T02:00:15+00:00

Unfortunately it's a false dichotomy: our brains operate on a carrot and stick arrangement.

We avoid descending into a life of crass hedonism because of the sufferings it introduces to our lives, we pursue virtue and purpose because they're rewarding and better us.

wtknight · 2020-11-15T02:38:00+00:00

I'm a guy in my 40s. The life of pleasure sounds better to me, although I'm not into carnal pleasure as much as other men. I'm kind of an intellectual slacker, instead.

Mimoxs · 2020-11-15T00:46:51+00:00

21 F

Life of purpose.

Those people are happier in long term. All the people I know who sleep around, male and female, tend to kind of have this emptiness about them. Like they're missing something. Generally tend to be more depressed people and less well-liked. They come across as hollow and devoid of some sort of missing element.

People who have concrete, aspirational goals and work for them tend to exude an aura of what I would call genuine happiness. I don't see why it would be an issue to give up hedonism for that.

stats135 · 2020-11-15T01:31:04+00:00

Pleasure 28M

I fundamentally don't believe in the existence of a higher meaning or purpose.

2020-11-15T06:05:41+00:00

[deleted]

SherbertBacon · 2020-11-15T11:06:47+00:00

30, Male, I'd choose life of purpose. If anything there's less of a "reasoning" per se and more, well, that's literally how I've operated my whole life. Long-term thinking and having higher-tier ambitions has always led to better things. Meaning, purpose, and virtue give me pleasure, and it's a much more filling and satisfying pleasure than the times I've dappled in hedonistic fun.

Don't get me wrong, a hedonistic splurge every now and again is fucking. But an existence off of pure immediate pleasure would be like surviving off rice cakes and ice cream.

2020-11-15T01:13:30+00:00

22F, and the answer is purpose.

Worth noting is that there is no such dichotomy. Meaningful pleasures exist, but they need to be cultivated. Likewise, a life of only simple pleasures often leads to disillusionment.

ThisIsMyAccount135 · 2020-11-15T02:56:11+00:00

ITT: men say pleasure, women say purpose

Is redpill wrong??

UTC24 · 2020-11-15T00:26:36+00:00

A life of pleasure, but also my purpose in life is to enjoy my life to the max, so for me a life of pleasure is also a life of purpose. Basically my purpose in life is to set myself up for a life of maximum pleasure if that makes sense

21, M

Sabinecharles · 2020-11-15T00:33:00+00:00

Purpose

JohnDoe9564 · 2020-11-15T00:47:05+00:00

Pleasure and it's not even close

SonicBackScratcher · 2020-11-15T01:41:26+00:00

¿Por qué no los dos?

You can honestly have both as this is literally my life. I've had sex stories that no one would believe without pictures, and those are generally frowned upon and I am a respected member of the community.

Its trite but its also a saying for a reason.

Moderation.

I don't always work hard, I don't always worry about other people, but I don't always try to have sex either.

Sometimes I'm Captain America, sometimes I'm Randy Spears.

throwawayyyyyydog · 2020-11-15T03:05:40+00:00

A life of purpose.

Boss123456789a · 2020-11-15T08:03:53+00:00

Purpose, male

nomadunkown · 2020-11-15T08:27:15+00:00

Most men must live a life of purpose and discipline before they have access to the life of pleasure they would be satisfied with.

rubbooyuri · 2020-11-15T15:31:08+00:00

What’s the gotcha here, OP? Only a minority of people would be happy doing one or the other.

Asbelowsoaboveme · 2020-11-15T17:35:06+00:00

Purpose can provide pleasure, I get more pleasure from deep connections than from sexual variety

April_blossoms · 2020-11-15T00:44:28+00:00

34F. Purpose. Pleasure is a fleeting moment of endorphins. Fulfillment is better than fleeing moments you can not hold on to.

2020-11-15T01:04:28+00:00

[deleted]

nemporisso · 2020-11-15T01:17:03+00:00

Pleasure comes from purpose! F 20s. There's no higher joy

goatismycopilot · 2020-11-15T00:50:46+00:00

Neither. They both sound bleh. The hedonistic life usually does not end well and the overly virtuous life breeds resentment, fanaticism, and often a lack of compassion for others.

Appropriate_Major_11 · 2020-11-15T00:55:42+00:00

25F | Purpose. No questions asked

Reasoning - because even pleasure is meaningless if everything around you is meaningless. What is pleasure anyway? It seems impossible to have pleasure without (at least the potential for) harm.

LittyKitsune · 2020-11-15T00:40:17+00:00

22F, life of purpose, or at least I see it that way. My primary concerns in life are God, family, and education. I'm at my happiest when I'm on the right track with those things. I prefer that over short bursts of satisfaction.

Cimorene86 · 2020-11-15T01:17:28+00:00

34 F. Life of pleasure.

For the purpose of answering this question, I'm assuming that Pleasure is not simply being defined in a purely sexual sense, especially since Purpose included "meaning" and "virtue". I'm already a hedonistic person. Seems a shame to change.

I greatly enjoy sex, food, sleep, and playing my games/hobbies (in moderation of course, I'm a hedonist, not an addict). I'm deliberately unmarried and childfree so that I can have the freedom to do what I want, when I want. Even my jobs are...to an extent...ones where I make my own hours. My independence and ability to indulge in things that make my life entertaining and physically or mentally satisfying is very important to me. I didn't always have this so I cherish it now.

If anyone wants to say that's selfish, I'll agree. I spent most of my life being unselfish to a rather unhealthy degree, so it's my turn now.

And if anyone is upset by my selfishness, I'm sad to report that due to Covid I've not gotten my normal shipment of Fucks in quite a while and have none to give at this time.

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2020-11-15T00:27:47+00:00

Not mutually exclusive in the least: take, for example, that having a purpose can have knock on effects that make one more attractive (money, confidence, etc.), and thus better positioned to be able to pursue pleasure

psypD · 2020-11-15T01:55:44+00:00

Neither was much of an option/choice. I had a life of chaos where I had periods where I fucked around a lot mixed with burst of purpose with sometimes terrible and sometimes spectacular results given the initial conditions.I am pretty content.Early 30s/Male

I do sometimes dream about a "paint by numbers" square life but I also think it is an illusion.

That said I do think of myself as a walking contradiction .

lotsofhubris · 2020-11-15T04:21:45+00:00

My purpose is pleasure

taapy234 · 2020-11-15T04:36:18+00:00

Why not both? No need to corner myself into one side and regret it later.

My life I have been working on so far is to use pleasure as the short term reward for short/medium/long term goals. Like I spend 8-10 hours a day on my job tasks and then keep the remaining 10 days for pleasure and partial work days (3-4 hours a day). (Thank god I am a freelancer)

120 days every year pursuing my hobbies and my own interests. What more do you need?

Besides, fucking all the time is so overrated. Sure, its good like a few times, but after that point, you lose interest in it. I am more than happy getting laid every few weeks or have a steady Fwb.

CopeandLies · 2020-11-15T07:25:03+00:00

A purposeful life with meaningful pleasures. Im an egoist, so the impression that I am greatly attractive to women pleases me more than fucking them. I'll take whatever amount of sex the archetypal leader of men alpha male ought to have.

Jakes1967 · 2020-11-15T07:36:19+00:00

Edit: So basically, what I get from this small sample size, is that women prefer purpose and men prefer pleasure.

Maybe it's the audience?

This is inline with what I see in my daily life as well.

Depending on age, I see the opposite

Men just want sex and fun and women want deeper connections and aspirations. Of course there are exceptions but I just find this interesting.

That's your "life of purpose"?

Here I was thinking of the guy who moved a mountain, doctors without borders, smoke jumpers, Mercy ships etc...

_mwk · 2020-11-15T08:28:59+00:00

both ???

i have a long term purpose, plan, and vision that i assign a lot of meaning to and a lot of meaning to the journey there

yet, i want fun, pleasure, and enjoy life to the best i can. pleasure doesn't mean sleeping around with anything that has a pulse tho, im not a man.

21f

throw-away-1709 · 2020-11-15T09:12:26+00:00

Combine it. Best way.

2020-11-15T09:46:21+00:00

Pleasure.

I'm at my peak happiness when I'm living my best hedonistic lifestyle. Travelling the world, partying, fucking, eating good food, doing whatever the hell I want.

This year with the lockdowns has really fucked me.

misiepatysie · 2020-11-15T09:49:57+00:00

F 30+ None of the mentioned. I do not see any sense in being a hedonist,yet I like my life to be comfortable and I like to have sine Irena of luxury.

A life with only purpose would be dull.

I prefer a quaiet, peacfull life,where I have time to pursue my passions and am sorry ale to help others to some extent.

cunningcaring · 2020-11-15T11:30:12+00:00

Room for both.

wateroclock · 2020-11-15T13:04:49+00:00

Male. A life of virtue and purpose with tons of good sex with the love of my life please.

Sibito · 2020-11-15T14:34:04+00:00

18, male

I’d rather have a life of meaning beacuse my pleasure would derive from there, having a purpose and achieving it would feel rewarding. But i understand those who would choose a life of pleasure, we are animals and thus we act on our instincts more often than not and therefore we do things that benefit out organism, sex being one of them (pleasure and reproduction are hardwired into us).

wickmachine · 2020-11-15T15:41:30+00:00

Aged 30. Female.

I choose a life of purpose. If your pleasure comes hard earned, then it's more pleasurable when attained. Purpose is the stuff that gets you out of bed everyday.

781234567 · 2020-11-15T16:10:47+00:00

I’m 27F I live a pretty hedonistic lifestyle. I don’t think life has much of a purpose so might as well indulge in the things that make me happy. However in your scenario you equate hedonism to sleeping around which I disagree with hedonism is much further reaching. For me being slutty doesn’t bring me happiness so it’s not a part of my hedonistic life. I still have virtues I’m just actively constantly seeking out happiness and I think I’m better off for it.

NotGoingoutofMW · 2020-11-15T21:49:46+00:00

I derive pleasure from purpose...so both?

IAm-What-IAm · 2020-11-16T14:39:55+00:00

Pleasure for me, but that doesn’t mean having sex with a lot of different people, instead it’s quite the opposite. I much rather fall in love and find that one person, and live my life focusing on hobbies and activities that makes me happy

Doctor99268 · 2020-11-17T06:01:35+00:00

Pleasure if i could keep it up. The problem with hedonism isn't doing the hedonism itself, but when it ends you're left with nothing. So pleasure up until the day i die.

moritak69 · 2020-11-18T12:46:06+00:00

A life of pleasure - hedonism, basically. Does having sex with many attractive people and fulfilling your base/carnal desires make you happiest?

You're not very bright if you immediately associate pleasure with sex #notsorry🤷‍♀️ . Pleasure can come from many different things, use your imagination. Eating out with good friends, having a serious relationship, buying your loved ones gifts, learning new skills. All those things can bring soemone pleasure.

KurkTheMagnificent · 2020-12-01T04:38:50+00:00

Purpose (21M)

Purpose makes life worth living for. I have had multiple opportunities for pleasure and have never felt satisfied afterwards.

death_by_1000_cats · 2020-11-15T00:28:42+00:00

32F.

Purpose is more important to me. I desperately need to feel needed and appreciated, and I like to feel like I'm part of something larger than myself, even if it's just family. Obviously I want moments of joy and happiness too, but that's all those are, moments. It's not fulfilling in any enduring way. A life without a sense of purpose or investment in anything larger than myself would feel empty, lonely and devoid of dignity.

kamikazes9x · 2020-11-15T00:27:26+00:00

The thing about pleasure it you will eventually get bored of it quick. And is not always sustainable. Eventually you will end up with pain. Either enjoy pain yourself in a masochistic way or sadistically inflict pain on other.

md8716 · 2020-11-15T04:09:26+00:00

Purpose. I get off on being the hero, and everybody knowing it.

I find pleasure seekers to be weak and beneath me, regardless of wealth.

Satanks · 2020-11-15T04:21:57+00:00

21f, Purpose. My fiance (23m) thinks the same, the way see it; sure you can go sleep with as many people as you can,do whatever you wish regardless of ethics, engage in carnism. I don't think any of that is fulfilling, in the modern world it's extremely hard to find good friendships, plus with certain behaviours you may get pleasure at the expense of other conscious beings, human or animal, but that other still exists. Someone is feeling that, future generations will too. You can still find pleasure while living more purposefully, just don't marry someone you're not best friends with or don't want to go in the same general direction with. That's my opinion though, other people want different things, I just find amongst hedonistic people there can be more peer predators, so you have to have a good eye for intentions. I don't.

2020-11-15T07:28:01+00:00

Life of purpose...Problem is a certain subset of men cannot activate a life of purpose without experiecing female adoration simultaneously or without having gone through a casual sex phase first...you can only be hyperfocussed on your purpose and be focussed away from women till your early 20s...If you deny yourself sexual interaction with the opposite sex more than that, your inner psychology WILL break down and will violently react against your ultra-disciplined lifestyle...To have a successful life post age 23,24 you need both pleasure and purpose...Purpose acting as the fuel of the engine, pleasure working as the lubricant film on the engine internals

ratherjerkoff2000 · 2020-11-15T00:45:50+00:00

41, male, a life of purpose. I’m under average height so a life of hedonism is not available to me. If it was, I’d probably choose hedonism. It would be nice to be valued by women for a change.

Title	Which is more appealing to you: a life of pleasure or a life of purpose?
Author	_Neon_Shadow_
Upvotes	11
Comments	100
Date	November 15, 2020 12:12 AM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	/r/PurplePillDebate
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/which-is-more-appealing-to-you-a-life-of-pleasure.733366 https://theredarchive.com/post/733366
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/jucbct/which_is_more_appealing_to_you_a_life_of_pleasure/