Fulfillment Through Union

Temporary Fulfillment Through Union

Hedonism, specifically through the sexual acts of a reprobate is usually not something that constitutes meaning in life. If we were to look at meaning from a biological perspective, reproduction may seem like an obvious answer. However due to the human ability to disobey nature's accordance, we can find a personal fulfillment that exists outside our evolution. Mystical traditions throughout history try to conceptualize through religious ideology on why we pursue reproduction. Many argue that it dissolves one's own ego, inducing a divine state in meditation which one can become closer to God. Observantly, there are an innumerable amount of reasons as to why one wishes to reproduce. Some of them due to excessive conformity, some for children and many just for the experience. While this act may serve as a temporary indulgence in the aesthetic, it usually does not foster true fulfillment; especially not because it evokes a state of metaphysical union within the individual. Reproduction serves as an example of how one cannot confuse the gratification of the aesthetic with the fulfillment of meaning. The achieving of pleasure through aesthetic means only serves to distract oneself from what is truly valuable. This is not to say one should live their life in absolute ascetic devotion to what one finds valuable without embracing the awe of life. However I am arguing that for many the dissolution of the self through the appreciation of art or the aesthetic is not enough to birth fulfillment in the individual. Nor does it include the introspection needed to conceptualize it. This becomes especially so when one's standards of what is beautiful are deprived only from what is externally deemed to be so. One can immerse themselves in the sublime, however that does not rid themselves of the need for introspection. Aestheticism should only be used in evoking a sense of awe in the individual, not ignorance towards true fulfillment.