Lofty Vanity

“But this pursuit of meaning in pleasure does not necessitate a frat-boy ethic. A man might be a hedonist, looking for ultimate meaning and value in aesthetic pleasures that are not gross or ostentatious. Perhaps meaning can be found by walking in a groomed Japanese garden contemplating chess moves or geometry problems. While it is certainly more refined, still the results come up the same — and empty every time” (Joy at the End of the Tether, p. 28).