Paradox of Hedonism
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
"Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." That is, directly pursuing pleasure or happiness often leads to not attaining happiness; happiness is usually a byproduct of pursuing other goals (such as meaning, responsibility, creation).
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Antidote to emptiness. - Much depression stems from 'I want to be happy.' When you treat 'happiness' as a KPI to evaluate life, you are bound to be disappointed (because happiness is fleeting). Forget happiness, pursue 'engagement' and 'problem-solving,' and happiness will naturally appear as a reward.
Anchor fast decisions
Strategies that maximize pleasure often reduce happiness (e.g., due to anticipation, adaptation, lack of meaning), contrary to the original intention, indicating that happiness cannot be directly sought.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_hedonismverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS