I'm hoping some of you who read this can help me...

I'm asking for help from the people who read my Livejournal because I've managed to formulate a question which I cannot answer. I'm hoping one (or more) of you will have better success.

While at work today, I found myself tossing around various concepts, free-associating a bit, and eventually the process turned to analogies. I'm sure most of you understand the concept: A is to B as C is to D. Well, I managed to come up with one to which I either don't have the answer, or I can't bring it to mind.

? is to hedonist as sadist is to masochist.

For the life of me, I simply can't come up with a word that fits under that question mark. The closest I come is Heinlein's "water-brother", from Stranger in a Strange Land, but that concept is far too loose for what I have in mind.

By preference, I'd prefer to have the word in English; failing that, in some human language - non-fictional. Is this truly such a rare concept among human beings that a species which cannot help verbalizing any idea it can conceive doesn't have a word for it? Or have I simply not encountered such a word?

5 comments — :

( 5 comments — Leave a comment )

jazzfanatic

2006-01-02 05:46 am (UTC)

My suggestion would be "fascist." Sounds strange, but let me explain.

This isn't a perfect analogy, because the relationship between a sadist and a masochist is one of a giver and a receiver. Hedonist doesn't imply either. Hedonism, according to Miriam-Webster (www.m-w.com) is:

1 : the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life
2 : a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism

So a hedonist is one who believe in seeking happiness and pleasure above all else - not as a giver or receiver. So I considered opposites, and my first suggestion would have been "puritan." But when I followed the link on M-W to Britannica.com, I found the following:

Some of the ugliest aspects of fascism—intolerance, repression, and violence—were fueled by what fascists saw as a morally justified struggle against “decadence.” For fascists, decadence meant a number of things: materialism, self-indulgence, hedonism, cowardice, and physical and moral softness. It was also associated with rationalism, skepticism, atheism, humanitarianism...

So that is how I arrived at "fascist."

galadrion

2006-01-02 06:23 am (UTC)

Actually, I did have in mind the giver-reciever relationship. Consulting a different dictionary service (http://dictionary.com) gives an entry for hedonist rather than hedonism: someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures [syn: pleasure seeker]. That particular definition implies (to me) a distinct bias towards one's own pleasure - although admittedly, it's a subtle implication, and perhaps not entirely warranted.

I guess what I'm looking for is a word for someone who feels happiness while (and specifically because of) giving another person pleasure.

Yes, this is somewhat important to me personally. *Grin*

jonnorthwood

2006-01-02 08:07 am (UTC)

It sounds like you're looking for the bastard twin of a Cyrenaic, with the primary motivation providing pleasure to others, while the personal pleasure received is a secondary effect drawn from the fulfillment of the primary motivation. Is this a fair assessment?

If so, a close cousin to what you seek would be Altruist.

If we consider that egoism is the hallmark of a Cyrenaic hedonist, altruism is its antithesis, focusing instead on the welfare of others, and purportedly giving a measure of satisfaction to the benefactor.

At least, that's the closest I can think of right now. Sorry. :/

2006-01-02 08:30 pm (UTC)

That's a fair assessment of the concept I'm looking for, yes. I'm not sure how well "altruist" fits, though - it seems more than a little broad in scope. It's the right direction, though.

jakesbrain

2006-01-09 06:06 pm (UTC)

"Ascetic" is another possibility. Instead of gratifying his desires, the ascetic seeks to subdue them. The difference is between controlling and being controlled - which is where the connection to the other half of the analogy comes in.

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galadrion

David Adrian