Happiness and Hedonism Flashcards
Happiness: definition
The ultimate end that renders our choices (or our lives) good choices (or good lives)
– happiness is a good in itself, an intrinsic good–as opposed to the other goods that are means or instruments to reach happiness, instrumental goods
(people disagree only about the way to find happiness)
Happiness: definition
The argument of the Limits of Explanation
(1) the reasons why we choose to do so and so constitute chains of reasons
(2) all chains of reasos terminate in one utlimate goal, which is always « Happiness »
(3) but our reasons are what make our choices good choices
(4) Therefore, the ultimate ccriterion whoch makes all choices good (or bad) choices is teh pursuit of Happiness 🎶
Eudaimonism
Happiness is the ultimate purpose of all choices, and what makes a life a good life.
Hedonism
hedonè = pleasure
Happiness is determined ony by the good expiriences/pleasures we have in our lives
Therefore, Happiness is constituted only bye the amount of pleasre we have in our lives.
Difference between Eudaimonism and Hedonism
Eudaimonism: The morally good life is the happy life
Hedonism: The happy life is a life full of pleasure
Argument for Hedonism
(1) good experiences (pleasures) clearly improve our Happiness
(2) if there is something in the world of which I have no experience at all (the number of teeth of some remote dinosaur), how could that affect my happiness?
(3) therefore Hedonism is true: happiness is just a matter of having good experiences (pleasures)
Objections to Hedonism (2)
Argument 1: « what we want for ourchildren » (P. Foot) 🧠🍁
* the persons life is not what a parent would want, i tis not a happy life
Argument 2: the experience machine, or theargument from « false happiness » 🤖
* most people woudl refuse to enter and wouldn’t consider it a happy life even though i sit maximally pleasant
= happines is not just a matter of having pleasant expiriences
Intermidiate conclusion of Eudaimonism and Hedonism
EUDAIMONISM is true: happiness is the ultimate purpose of all choices, and what makes a life a good life.
- … But HEDONISM is false: happiness is not just a matter of having pleasures
Further objection
(eudaimonismo and hedonism)
Perhaps a good life is independent from pleasure, but also independent from happiness in general?
Perhaps a morally good life is one in which I do my moral duty
Ex:
- A Resistant, who accepts to be killed in order not to give the name of other resistants
- A mother who sacrifices herself in hard work for thehappiness of her children
Have poeple who sacrifce themselves by duty (or love) abandonded the purpose of happiness?
Is their action motivated by something else than happiness?
DEONTOLOGISM (Kant): the ultimate purpose of a good action is to do one’s duty, without any consideration for one’s happiness
– traditional EUDAIMONISM (Socrates): the obligations of moral duty are a way to achieve happiness – they are never in conflict with one’s happiness
Problems for Deontologism
is it even possible (given our nature) to abandon the purpose of happiness?
Problems with traditional Eudaimonism
There are cases in which we seem to have to choose between duty and happines
Conclusion: 3 possinle views of the good life:
- Hedonism: what we should strive for is happiness, and happiness just is a positive amount of pleasure
- Deontologism: what we should strive for is doing our duty, and that sometimes implies forgetting our happiness
- traditional Eudaimonism: what we should strive for ishappiness, but doing our moral duty is another way to strive for happiness, and ultimately there is no conflict between duty and happiness
