GE-MDW 12:00 - 1:30 PM (T,Th)

The Modern World is sometimes criticized and said to be a pleasure-seeking world. A simple fact
is that pleasure and the seeking after it do play a crucial role in present-day civilization around the world
with cultures dependent upon their way of life and living. Hedonism is about the pleasure that is only
intrinsically valuable and proper aim of human life while the pain is not. We tend to do anything by all
means just to meet the satisfaction we are seeking and sometimes things don't go as planned but we
wash the thought away because we look on the brighter side which is we are satisfied. It is at times
maintained that the thinkers, the philosophers, and the theologians of ancient and medieval times, had
very little notion of man’s fundamental right to pleasure. Either they failed to examine the nature of
such a human right or they flatly denied its existence. 

  In Thomistic Hedonism a person regardless of economic stature, that person would always seek
to gain pleasure and the avoidance of displeasure. According to Thomas Aquinas, he stated that "No one
can live without some sensible and bodily pleasure." But even if it has an abundant pleasure, as long as
it is in a wellordered sex-act, it cannot cause damage or have a bad effect to right reason.

Having a hedonistic mindset is not bad, as long as you know the extent of your freedom and
your limits in seeking pleasure. Striking the right balance is best, that the people around you don’t get
negatively affected by your decisions. That everyone is involved and has an equal amount of
opportunities.

Examples:

1. You intend to buy a brand new phone. The pleasure of buying a brand new phone outweighs the
hesitation and regret you feel before buying the phone. You then proceed to buy the phone
regardless of the price to fulfill your desire of pleasure.
2. If you've been into relationship at one time, and now you know how relationships work. But
soon enough, you'll fall out of love, cheat on your partner to fulfill the pleasure you wanted that
you never had with your partner.
3. Doing what you love with a burning passion to achieve your goals. Being passionate about the
dream outranks the negativity mindset because you know that after all, you will feel satisfaction.
4. Sexual intercourse between a married couple wherein it doesn't matter if they do it a lot of
times as long as the two people involved are not forced to do it.
5. Buying expensive things but you're aware of the fact that it can empty your wallet. On the other
side, you also thought that with that huge amount of money spent on a single thing, it will be
equivalent to a lot of things if you'll just buy those that are of reasonable price. But nevertheless
you proceed on buying that 1 expensive thing because the satisfaction is different from the
other option.
6.  Many of us can't get off our phone/social media addiction.  We sleep with it next to us. We
carry it with us constantly. It's right next to us in the shower, just in case we see a new icon light
up. We know constantly checking social media in the evenings and on weekends takes us away
from quality time with family and friends. Yet, we don't stop.
7. In terms of getting a car, you can either buy a car or steal a car, depending on the individual’s
state of mind, his character, his environment and other factors. These factors interplay on how
 he is going to reach his pleasure. Everybody wants a car, but not all have enough money to buy
one, then you choose to steal, but then you don’t want to be jailed.

Task No. 4 (In-group description):

    
We are 1st year students from the DCIS department and we all share the same goal for college
which is to graduate. Our courses vary but are still under the same department and more or less the
same subjects.
     
     Humans as we are, we seek pleasure in order to satisfy our crave for something or for someone
and it is natural. We have different cultures but this trait doesn't choose which one it should be present.

References:

Lumen Cultural Anthropology. Cultural Relativism. Retrieved from:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/chapter/cultural-relativism/

Beams, J.(2011). Hedonism and Aquinas. Retrieved from:

https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/aquinas.htm

Williams, C. (2017, May 15). The Hedonism of Aquinas. Retrieved from:

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/639922/pdf

Members:
Arreola, Joan
Cuevas, Norijun
Pasok, Ephrem Marie
Posas, Jhoewell
Lim, Rich
Tiongzon, Venz Ian
Valenzuela, Mary Eliza