Hedonism only cares about the joy under the very nose 1
Hedonism only seeks the corporal joy. The so-called “impulses from my heart” and “offhand madness” are nothing more than indulgence in the instinct，and chasing the corporal pleasure. A philosopher said, “If happiness lies in the corporeal pleasure, then, we should say, when the ox has found fodder to eat, he is happy.” If we only submit to the pure corporal joy，we will only reduce the human into an animal like the ox, the pig or the dog.
Hedonism only cares about the joy under the very nose. For one moment’s sensation of pleasure, one time of apolaustic drug taking might make someone fall into the abyss that could ruin all his life；The price of one-night “romance” might be a terrible burden of AIDS, and a boundless sea of woe；Gambling night after night might make someone become mad and take his life in his hands… The price of being addicted to such “small joys” at hand is often the loss of the lasting “great joys” of life. It seems to be seeking pleasure, but actually is losing pleasure totally.
Ordinary hedonism also only cares about the joy of one person, even to the extent of basing his own joy on the suffering of other people. “Believe in the impulses from the heart any time”: when wanting to steal，just steal; when wanting to rob, just rob… So long as they are glad themselves, who cares about the monstrous flood in the world? So，the boss of a game playing hall should wave his knife to two young lives and kill them “justly”, just for 1.2 Yuan, because so doing could “vent his dander”, making him feel happy at the moment. Let’s take another example in the environmental problem. Many people go to the mountain to cut trees for money, or dump garbage into the Yangtze Rive. They feel happy themselves, but others will suffer, and the whole next generation will suffer. For thousands of years, mankind’s pursuit of happiness has resulted in unhappiness actually, which is just the ill effect of hedonism. We are seeking happiness to the top of our bent, but the happiness we are seeking is—-
Happy combination between corporal joy and spiritual joy；
Happy combination between the present joy and the long-term joy；
Happy combination between individuals’ joy and the collective’s joy.
While valuing corporal joy，value spiritual joy all the more；
While valuing the immediate joy，value the long-term joy all the more；
While valuing the individual’s joy。value the collective’s joy all the more；
Only by so doing can we get the greatest joy，and only that is the joy the rational hedonists seek.
Can joy be calculated? Of all ages，many people have tried to find out the formula for calculating joy. We have got a joy calculation formula：
The two major goals of becoming gods are “daylong ecstasy” and “eternal life”. Daylong ecstasy is the maximization of “the daily amount of joy”. Eternal life will maximize the “number of days of joy”, so, the time effect of joy will have no bound or end, reaching eternity. Hence，according to the joy calculation formula，the joy to be brought about by becoming “gods” is like this：
Daylong ecstasy×eternal life＝maximization of happiness•making happiness limitless＝highest happiness
In Part II “Subversion of Tradition and Fetal Movement of Future”, I expounded the great possibility of eternal life in detail. Likewise, the possibility of “daylong ecstasy” is also very great.
Whether a person is happy or not, is determined jointly by his external world and internal world. Only by reforming both external world and internal world can we make people happy all day long.
In reforming a person’s internal world，there can be many ways:
Faced with a the same half cup of water，someone may cry joyously: “I still have a half cup!” whereas someone else may sigh sadly: “Why is there only a half cup left?” In our life, some people are joyful by nature, like Cheng Yaojin (famous general in the Tang Dynasty), and some people are sad by nature, like Lin Daiyu (heroine in A Dream of Red Mansions), as joy comes in part from natural instinct. Research has also found，the gene plays a decisive role in a person’s optimistic character or pessimistic character. By the gene map we can find the gene that makes people feel happy and optimistic, thus, we can implant the optimism gene or joy gene into a pessimist.
Some scientists made an experiment with the rat：A very hungry rat (it had already learned to get a pleasant sensation by treading the lever) did not eat the food, but ran straight to the lever that could stimulate its “joy centrum” and did “self stimulation” madly, as its strong pursuit of joy overwhelmed its thirst for food, making it forget to eat and enjoy the pleasure without tiredness (See Ability Panic for details). The rat has a joy centrum，and there should be a similar joy centrum in the human brain, too. Once we have found the joy centrum of man，by using some high and new technology to stimulate it effectively all day long, especially in time of study or work, our life may be full of joy every moment.
As our education has the function to cultivate the soul, we should stress “pleasure education”，cultivate people’s optimistic consciousness, optimistic thinking, optimistic attitude and optimistic character，so that everyone may be good at finding pleasure, tasting pleasure and making pleasure. The best education should give everyone a joyous soul.
In reforming the external world for “daylong ecstasy”, there are even more methods:
By dint of the power of high technology，especially the virtual reality technology, we may help people realize any wish，so as to expand the channels of joy greatly.
If you are fond of playing in the bar but you do not have the economic strength for frequenting the bar every day, you may realize your wish at home. The home computer equipment has adopted the virtual reality technique，so, it can simulate the romantic mood in the bar.
If you are fond of tourism, you need not learn from San Mao (an adventurous writer) to take the pains in traveling everywhere. At home, you can visit Eiffel Tower，or move Palais de Versailles into your home.
If you are a girl fond of following the fashion, there is no need to roam in the clothing market in the hot sunlight. You may design your favorite fashion at your will on the computer, and then simulate putting on the fashionable dress you have designed.
If you are a dance fan，so long as you implant a tiny computer chip into your body，you may be able to dance skillfully all kinds of beautiful movements, whether classical dancing or national dancing or modern dancing. Moreover，in future, the protagonist in a teleplay may talk with you on TV, and invite you to join the story together.
If you wish to play the piano music of “Maiden’s Prayer” but you have never learned to play musical instruments, and if you hope to compose your own opus but you cannot read music, it won’t matter at all. In future, even if you are ignorant of music，you will also be able to play the lyre in a free flowing style like a musician, and able to compose moving musical works.
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In the measurable future，many clever ways of amusement will appear, and more and more high and new technologies will add joyous wings to us, so，mankind will get inexhaustible joy at last.
One point is worth noting specially: what we seek is daylong ecstasy，that is, not only “ecstasy”, but also “daylong ecstasy”, which is to say，we must put people into a state of utmost joy in all the 24 hours of a day. On the one hand，we may use technological means to reduce human sleeping time. A person uses one third of his time to sleep, that is, in one third of the life, he is in the state without consciousness, just like a living dead body. When we think of this, we cannot help feeling sorry. We may explore into the secret of human sleeping，so as to develop a high technology that enables people to sleep less or get rid of sleep (there have been some great breakthroughs in this respect), to ensure them to enjoy pleasure in all the 24 hours of the day. On the other hand，even if we have to have a certain amount of sleeping time，we may also optimize the sleeping time, for example, letting us have fond dreams all the time so as to enjoy the beautiful sleep. In short，we may keep people happy every hour, every minute and every second, whether awake or asleep.
Daylong ecstasy may maximize the daily amount of happiness；Eternal life may maximize the number of days of happiness. The result of multiplication of the above two will maximize the joy of the whole life.
Eternal life and daylong ecstasy constitute the overall goal of becoming immortals, and the two together determine the whole amount of happiness. The kernel objectives of becoming gods, “omniscience and omnipotence” and “supreme kindness and supreme beauty” also play a great role for happiness. Eternal life and daylong ecstasy will chiefly depend on the great development of science and technology, and on the other hand, the great development of science and technology also depends on human “omniscience and omnipotence”；Meanwhile，only when everyone has reached “the supreme kindness and supreme beauty” can we form a harmonious and uniform great society，build up a globally integrated commonwealth，and focus all the forces of the society and the world onto the most important aspect of human happiness, so as to ensure the realization of eternal life and daylong ecstasy.
At the same time, omniscience and omnipotence, supreme kindness and supreme beauty just represent the highest prospect of mankind’s age-old pursuit of “truth, benevolence and beauty”. And they happen to represent the highest level of happiness.
Omniscience and omnipotence means reaching the peak in wisdom and ability.
For a person, wisdom and ability are the roots of his joy. Sukhomlinskkie said quite well: “One person’s happiness is just the happiness of a society, and after all, it depends on the abilities shown in the person and depends on the outstanding abilities that make his life glitter.” Joy lies in happiness, happiness lies in success，and success lies in wisdom and ability. A success may bring about a joy directly, and omniscience and omnipotence are the guarantee of limitless success. Omniscience and omnipotence can enable a person to follow his inclinations，fulfill whatever he wishes, and get the greatest joy.
Supreme kindness and supreme beauty means reaching the peak in morality and beauty.
“Those who love others are always loved by others, and those who respect others are always respected by others”. If you have the “supreme kindness” of the god, loving and respecting others to the greatest extent, you will win the greatest love and respect from others. Gaining unlimited love and respect means gaining unlimited pleasure. Just as Rousseau said: “Only when you love others can you get the love from others；If you want to live a happy life，you must turn yourself into a person loved by others；If you want others to follow you, you must make yourself worthy of others’ respect；Only when you treasure your own dignity can you get the praise from others.” If you take others as your enemies and are jealous of others’ joy，others’ joy will anguish you；When you are kind and friendly to others, and feel happy for others’ happiness, you will share the joy of all people, and become the happiest person in the world.
Beauty is the source of happiness. Human beauty is shown in various aspects，such as beauty of the shape, beauty of manners, beauty of temperament, beauty of style and so on. Loving beauty is human nature. When a baby sees an ugly person, he will be frightened to cry；People seek beauty in any aspect of their life: eating, dressing, dwelling and so on；Since the ancient times, “It is hard for a hero to pass the test of a belle”. The power of beauty is invincible. Even such a great saint as Confucius was intoxicated in talking about the beautiful looks of Nanzi. In order to contend for Belle Helen, Greece and Troy fought for a decade, causing one hundred thousand deaths! As soon as Helen appeared at the top of the city wall, the oldsters in the senatus were amazed by her beauty, and could not help gasping in admiration: “Really a goddess! It is totally worthwhile fighting for her for ten years!” Why was Helen’s beauty so valuable? To put it bluntly, only because：Beauty can bring joy to people；The supreme beauty can bring the greatest joy and happiness to people.
Thus it can be seen，both the overall goals of becoming gods, “eternal life” and “daylong ecstasy”，and its kernel objects, “omniscience and omnipotence” and “supreme kindness and supreme beauty”，are meant for joy.
All developments of the world are for human development，and all human developments are for joy. Only by becoming “gods” can we maximize people’s joy, and lead to the Elysium characterized by happiness as great as Heaven.