QUESTION ELEVEN
11. In what ways was Errol Flynn a philosophical hedonist? Support your answer with pertinent quotes.
being a hedonist means having a belief that anything that results in pleasure is good, and errol flynn's way of living, all the way from when he was still a child, entirely reflects his philosophical hedonism, for his actions are always geared toward pleasure and no other.
this "seeking pleasure" habit of his can be seen mostly from his experiences with women. in most if not all of his affairs, he never considers the consequences of his actions; all he head in mind was something along the lines of "if it gives both you and me a pleasure, then let's go for it." one affair he had with elsie when he was in northshore sydney grammar school he described as being "much more interesting than algebra." (flynn 43) another affair with a lady named maura was considered "one of [his] most wonderful nights," (flynn 56) although he knew that maura was married to a high government official. then with maihiati, whom he found in the jungle, flynn considered her so "desirable" (flynn 71) that he disregarded a letter from his dad about not having a relationship with a native. his hedonistic idea, however, is probably most easily seen in his short relationship with mayako, whome he met aboard thd D'Artagnan: "i decided that if she were so ill that she might die, and so young and so beautiful, she certainly should have a fling before passing away. i doped the situation this way: if she was really that ill, she would want one too. i was right." (flynn 167)
another example of flynn's hedonism is shown during his childhood. he would skip classes and not study, unlike other kids. what was considered "good" during that era was probably the whole idea of going to school, getting a degree, and then work, but for flynn, who was a hedonist, what doesn't provide pleasure is not a real "good." he said that "it was fun skipping out, fooling the headmasters, taking off at night after a romantic leap to the ground." (flynn 43) flynn cares not about the consequences of his actions, what matters for him is the maximization of pleasure.
being a hedonist means having a belief that anything that results in pleasure is good, and errol flynn's way of living, all the way from when he was still a child, entirely reflects his philosophical hedonism, for his actions are always geared toward pleasure and no other.
this "seeking pleasure" habit of his can be seen mostly from his experiences with women. in most if not all of his affairs, he never considers the consequences of his actions; all he head in mind was something along the lines of "if it gives both you and me a pleasure, then let's go for it." one affair he had with elsie when he was in northshore sydney grammar school he described as being "much more interesting than algebra." (flynn 43) another affair with a lady named maura was considered "one of [his] most wonderful nights," (flynn 56) although he knew that maura was married to a high government official. then with maihiati, whom he found in the jungle, flynn considered her so "desirable" (flynn 71) that he disregarded a letter from his dad about not having a relationship with a native. his hedonistic idea, however, is probably most easily seen in his short relationship with mayako, whome he met aboard thd D'Artagnan: "i decided that if she were so ill that she might die, and so young and so beautiful, she certainly should have a fling before passing away. i doped the situation this way: if she was really that ill, she would want one too. i was right." (flynn 167)
another example of flynn's hedonism is shown during his childhood. he would skip classes and not study, unlike other kids. what was considered "good" during that era was probably the whole idea of going to school, getting a degree, and then work, but for flynn, who was a hedonist, what doesn't provide pleasure is not a real "good." he said that "it was fun skipping out, fooling the headmasters, taking off at night after a romantic leap to the ground." (flynn 43) flynn cares not about the consequences of his actions, what matters for him is the maximization of pleasure.
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