[ebacon]

I don't know the exact definition of hedonism that my friend had in mind.
To me it just makes sense that it is possible to approach the "truth" from several paths. In that regard an approach from the dark side, or hedonistic side, or whatever, is just as likely to arrive at the same "truth" as an approach from the light side.

An example in the business context might be that failure is simply finding out what doesn't work. In a similar manner a hedonist might find the dark corners of alcohol, drugs, etc, and be more qualified to discuss those topics compassionately and with gradations. People that have never been to the dark side seem to see all bad behavior as really bad. Those are the noisy "soap box" preacher types.