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Guest post by C.W.Euwyn. Euwyn is a relatively young member of the fandom, writer, and is currently studying for a degree in philosophy. He enjoys writing anthropomorphic fiction, reading it, and has a passion for philosophical debate. Currently, he is most influenced by the likes of the Stoics, Hegel, Hiedegger, and Kierkegaard, though he enjoys reading everything in between. He can be found on twitter as @CWEuwyn.

Furries want to be happy.

“Surely that’s not unique to furries, all humans want to be happy”, you might reply. To an extent I would agree, happiness is largely what people appear to be aiming for in life. Yet few groups of people seem to embrace it more than furries. At almost any convention you will find hundreds of permanently smiling fursuits; costumes specifically designed to make the wearer feel good, and deliver a sense of joy to those around them. Online, thousands of dollars pass from commissioners to artists, in exchange for illustrations of the buyer’s fursona. Sex is an undeniably large part of the fandom, and that is partly, in my mind, because of it’s association with pleasure. On the surface there does not seem to be anything intrinsically wrong with these things; fursuits, pictures, sex, and porn, all provide a great sense of joy, ideally without harming anyone. It would seem that one of the key tenets to furry is hedonism; pleasure equals good.

Now, let’s go back to an earlier form of hedonism and imagine what Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher, would do if he wanted to be a furry. Like most furries, Epicurus would agree that what is pleasurable is good and what is painful is bad. So why would his opinion of the community matter? Well, if we could sit him down, he would probably laugh, and call the entire community a contradiction to happiness.

There is a lot to Epicureanism, but the position can be broadly summed up as follows: the more you have, the more you’ve got to lose. One can live a good life by learning to be happy with the bare minimum. In practice, Epicurus and his friends all pitched together, bought a big house, did their own gardening, and lived from only what they grew themselves (a rather boring diet, especially by our modern standards). Epicurus also distinguished between what he called “static pleasures” and “moving pleasures”. The former is something that we can always access and experience, things such as resting after a long day, feeling at peace with oneself when laying down, etc… The latter are transient things, which occur one moment and are gone in the next, activities such as eating good food, drinking wine, and even having sex.  A “static pleasure” is the joy that comes with the removal of one’s needs (the need to eat, drink, or sleep, for example), whilst a “moving pleasure” involves the excitement of the senses, beyond what is needed to survive. Of the two, Epicurus argues that the former it superior, whilst the latter will inevitably lead to pain.

To bring it back to furry, I should first say that I’m not an Epicurean, and I won’t argue that anybody should live in the way that Epicurus advised. But that does not mean that what he has to say is useless. Let’s imagine that Epicurus came to the twenty-first century and wanted to be a furry. For a start, would he want a fursuit? Probably not, they cost a lot of money, drink could be spilled on him, and he would inevitably have to remove it. Would he commission art? I imagine he wouldn’t want that either, he’d say that any pleasure he could get from it would only be fleeting. Would he indulge any fetishes he had, or lust after sex? No, he would see the pleasure as temporary, and would think that later it would cause him pain.

With these gone, one might ask “what would he do then? How could he possibly be a furry?” Indeed, hitherto, the Epicurean view of the community seems rather critical and pessimistic, there would be no fursuits, commissioned art, or the sexual freedom that many furries prize. But there are positive things that Epicurus would focus on.

For a start, he would say that friendship must come first. The Epicureans prized friendship above all else, and this would be what they most respected in the community. Furries like to make friends. A convention is described as a “large family” by some, and this is something that Epicurus would say should be the community’s focus. It’s very easy to only think about popularity, money, or having a good time, but the most long-term happiness a person can get from the community is, to me at least, the ability to make friends. A true friend will provide infinitely more pleasure than fursuiting, art, or sex.

Second, Epicurus would say the community needs to avoid drama. In the same way that he kept to the garden where he and his friends dwelt, he would advise furries to stay away from anything dramatic in the community. So long as whatever was happening in the community did not affect his own pleasure, as a furry, Epicurus would refuse to take part in any of this “they said X” business that happens more frequently than most of us would like.

Thirdly, I believe that an Epicurean garden of furries would be incredibly creative. People would be free to draw, write, or compose what they wanted. Money would not be a problem, since they would have whatever they wanted on the doorstep. When not with their friends, this community of furries would be able to come up with whatever it is they wanted, without a deadline or a client ordering them about what to do. I imagine some very strange things would come from such a place.

To draw attention to the title of this article, “the hedonistic paradox”, I think that it’s time I bring it in. The hedonistic paradox (also known as the “paradox of hedonism” or “the pleasure paradox”), is a general observation which says that happiness is not something that somebody can obtain directly. It is common wisdom that, often, those who focus most on their own happiness have a tendency to end up as the most unhappy of all.

Whenever I think of this, my mind always drifts to furries. How can a community that has such a focus on happiness be filled with people who are, by and large, no more happy than any other group of people? To me, I think it is partly due to the focus of the community. A lot of “furriness” is outwardly focussed: creating a character, buying art of it, commissioning a fursuit, and so on. This makes me wonder if any of these things really help in attaining long-term happiness, as opposed to bringing only a temporary moment of joy. “Post-con depression” is commonly reported problem, which stems partly, I think, from the fact that these kinds of pleasures cannot last. I’m not calling these things bad, or mocking the people who enjoy them – by themselves they are fine – but I often question the negative effect that they can have on people when they have to come back down to reality. The nine-to-five job probably seems even more soul-crushing after a weekend
of partying and suiting.

For me, a solution would be the middle-ground between the current community and Epicurus. To me, furry is a love of anthropomorphics. I like pictures and stories with human-like animals, and enjoy the fact that I live in such an age where I can find others with that interest.

I am not arguing that we should get rid of the fursuits and porn. I myself do not wish to participate, but I understand that they are important for a great many people. I do believe that there is a healthier attitude to take towards them, however. Making friendship the main thing to be gotten from the furry community, giving money to artist without needing the art to be personal, and paying more mind to the charity events that the community does are better than the more inwardly focussed efforts.

In short, I suppose that this is what the article has been trying to say this: a calmer, more peaceful attitude towards things would be better. People would be happier if they were less concerned with their characters, money, and the drama, instead treating the community as a place to make friends, and as a creative outlet. I feel that many in the community could avoid the hedonistic paradox by adopting a more modern Epicurean approach to things.

so /u/CeresSergal requested me to do an AMA here. I can't imagine what you guys could possibly wanna know about me, buuuut... here goes x3

FurAffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/thesepantsdontfit/

DeviantART: http://thesepantsdontfit.deviantart.com/

ASK ME ANYTHING

submitted by mrmattsir
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Hello, Papa Bear,

Its me again and first sorry for another letter I have a lot on my shoulders lately. Anyway, me and my friends are going through some rough ends. Not long ago my best friend (Amanda) had a birthday party and invited me, and 3 other girls. One of them was our best friend. The others I knew just never really hung out with.

Anyways, because me, Amanda and Alyssa (the best friend) haven't seen each other in awhile we decided to have a sleepover. Then Olivia (one of the girls I don't really hang out with) wanted to come. So because I knew her pretty well, and everyone begged me. I said yes. We had some fun, and all, but I felt they weren't including me in anything. They didn't do anything I wanted to do because I thought, since they were my guests we had to do whatever they wanted. So they mostly played on my Wii. Though I didn't join because I only have 3 remotes and there was four of us. So I mostly began to feel sad, and depressed. During the sleepover my two best friends seemed to not act like themselves. Alyssa, who loves animals, started acting as if they were nothing which is something she would never do. Amanda, just hardly noticed me which is normally a first. And Olivia, she is just one of those punk, like girls, and I don't really get along with those type of people very well.

I mentioned this on a furry forum and some of my friends on it said to pull them aside and talk to them about this. So I did and it failed. They started acting mean towards me and saying I just want others’ pity. Which isn't true at all. So we haven't talked and things are awkward between us, and my question is, how can I apologize for all of this? I just want us to be friends again. Thank you.

Sorry this was long.

Topaz (age 12)
 
* * *
 
Hi, Topaz,
 
Papabear suspects he knows what’s going on here. It centers around this girl Olivia. She’s kinda the cool kid, I bet. And I bet Amanda and Alyssa wanted to impress her; this explains why their behavior changed. Bet you that Olivia doesn’t share Alyssa’s love of animals, so she suppressed it so that Olivia would like her more. I also suspect the main reason they wanted to come to your home wasn’t because of you but because of your Wii.
You’re not the one who needs to apologize; they are. It was extremely rude of them to hog your Wii and leave you sitting there. Only three controllers? Fine, take turns playing. Have three people play for a while, then low score has to sit out while the next person takes over, and so on. Easy solution, but no one proposed that, did they? And you were too polite and trying too hard to be a good hostess to insist they share your game system.

Topaz, in a way, you are at an unenviable age when you have to deal with social cliques all the time. And social cliques can morph constantly in the school years. One day you may find yourself fully accepted in a certain social group, and the next, without even knowing why, you are given the boot. Usually this is because a certain clique—large or small—gets a new member or members who is envied by the original members and anyone who doesn’t likewise want to be like the cool people will be pushed out. Cliques can grow, or shrink, split into multiple different cliques, or merge into supercliques.

In this interesting article from PsychCentral, Marie Hartwell-Walker, a doctor of education, explains how there can be two types of social groups in school: clicks and cliques. I have been talking about cliques, which are unhealthy, but Hartwell-Walker also explains there can be social groups that are healthy and are composed of friends who “click” together.

What you used to have with Alyssa, Amanda, and you was a click. Three friends who had similar interests and liked hanging out. Now, with the introduction of Olivia, the group is morphing into a clique—an unhealthy group of people with weak self-esteem who want to be part of a “cool” crowd and show themselves as superior to others (read the article, it’s very helpful).

At this point, sadly, it sounds as if you are a click member who now is being slowly squeezed out of a group that has turned into a clique. If you want your friends back, there are two potential options: 1) you can suck up to Olivia and try to be just like her in the same way that Alyssa and Amanda are, or 2) you can try and keep Olivia out of your relationship with Alyssa and Amanda. Invite A and A to do super-fun stuff together without O and reinforce your bond with the two girls and make yourself the cooler choice in their eyes.

The good news is that it sounds like you have other friends. Good for you! In case the two As decide they want to be with O more than you (something you can only try to influence not to happen but have no ultimate control over), you still have other options in friends.

This is not a reflection on you; this doesn’t mean you aren’t friend-worthy. It means that Amanda and Alyssa are becoming social climbers who think it’s more important to look cool than to be genuine friends.

It’s sad, I know. It’s not hopeless yet, but be prepared for the possibility they might not be your friends much longer. It’s one of those painful lessons in life everyone goes through. The longer you live, the more friends you will lose.... But don’t worry!!! You will also make many new friends along the way. As you do, you will learn a lot about friendship, both how to pick better-quality friends and how to be a better friend yourself.

Wish You Luck!
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer. Ocelot: Le Chat Qui N’en Était Pas Un, by Jean David Morvan & Séverine Tréfouël [writers] and Agnès Fouquart [art]. Paris, Delcourt, August 2015, hardcover €12,50 (48 pages), Kindle free. Thanks once again to Lex Nakashima for this fine example of the French bande dessinée. If […]

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My uni has been on a very volatile state lately, but tests have ended and we're close to (Finally) finishing the semester. Today I must take my courses; and then i can focus on your requests that i've let go for almost month without finishing them T.=.T

I promise to finish them ok? If I fix the drawing tablet my brother gave me i can even color them, but that come later ok?

And sorry again for being so late :(

submitted by nike1155
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I've been drawing furries for a while, and decided the other day to start a comic, with a complex world and a grown up story (like with politics, battles and maybe the occasional naughty page) I've decided to involve many different species in the comic and. Have come across a problem, how do i make ratmorph look more unique than just a mouse with grey fur? Anyone got any guides for drawing all of the rodents :)?

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