Hedonism: Its Powerful Appeal

Philosophy | Teaching | Seminars | Honors Value theories set forth what is *worth* doing, not what to do or not do; what makes a life go well, not rules of conduct or behavior. Many things are instrumentally valuable, meaning that they are good insofar as they allow us to obtain other valuable things. But theories of well-being aim to pinpoint which things are *intrinsically* valuable, or valuable for their own sake. Hedonism is the theory that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically good for people, and pain is the only thing that is intrinsically bad for people. Hedonists make a distinction between physical pleasure, which consists of pleasant feelings or sensations, and attitudinal pleasure, which is the positive attitude of enjoyment. If hedonism is to be plausible, we must understand it as the claim that only attitudinal pleasure is intrinsically good for us. The sensualist values physical pleasure above attitudinal pleasure, so sensualism should not be confused with hedonism, nor should hedonism be reduced to sensualism. Hedonism has many attractions. The theory allows that there are many different types of valuable life, and it gives us a certain degree of autonomy over what is good or bad for us. Furthermore, it just seems obvious that happiness is good for people, and misery is bad for them. Given that all of our explanations must start somewhere, hedonism seems to be a plausible starting point. Hedonism also accounts for the fact that rules of thumb about what is good for people often have exceptions, since what makes one person happy needn't make someone else happy. Finally, hedonism makes sense of the fact that parents who say they want the best for their children typically want their children to be happy. This point, however, leads to the first objection to hedonism: patients who have had lobotomies often seem very happy, yet few of us would desire such a life for our loved ones.