PHIL 1550 Chapter 1: ch 1 - hedonism-its powerful appeal
10 Feb 2017
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To know how our lives can be better, need a standard that will tell us when our lives are going well for us determine well-being or welfare. Instrumental goods: those things whose value consists in the fact that they help to bring about other good things (e. g. vaccinations, mothballs, & money) Good life is going to contain a lot of what is intrinsically valuable. Hedonism: the view that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable, and pain (or unhappiness) is the only thing that is intrinsically bad. A life is good to the extent that it is filled w/ pleasure & is free of pain. 2 fundamental kinds of pleasure: physical pleasure, attitudinal pleasure. To a hedonist, happiness = attitudinal pleasure. Things are good only b/c of the benefits they bring about. Argued that the most pleasant condition is one of inner peace.
