Sustainable Hedonism

How we can enjoy our lives in a way that does not cost the Earth? Paradoxically, while happiness is ultimately good, our search for it often fails. A clear sign of our collective failure is that no single country on earth has achieved a social minimum while also remaining below the ecological ceiling. The problem lies in our unexamined assumptions, habits and beliefs about success. The mainstream world-view, that largely stems from economics, identifies happiness with pleasure and sees pleasure-seeking as a lonely and selfish exercise.This book aims to inspire us to an alternative world-view by inviting us (1) to refine our understanding of a thriving life, (2) to consider how we want to attain it, and (3) to explore our inner contradictions, saboteur and progressive forces. Ancient Greek hedonists can inspire us to live a life of ‘sustainable hedonism‘. Aristotle’s approach to happiness as ‘flourishing’ can support our ability for conscious action based on virtues and in community. Recent scientific knowledge also highlights the potential pitfalls of searching happiness, and offers pathways on how to live an ecologically-responsible life without a reduction in well-being.The book concludes by showing how the Theatre of the Soul can offer experiential learning in which we can outgrow our outdated strategies, which sabotage our flourishing life, so that ultimately we are able to experience ourselves as autonomous, creative beings living in loving and mutually strengthening relationships with others and with the Earth. Ultimately, we can become both more virtuous and better hedonists.