Hedonism is a school of
ethics which argues that
pleasure is the only
intrinsic good.
Etymology
The name derives from the
Greek word
for "delight" (
hēdonismos from
hēdonē
"pleasure", a cognate of English
sweet + suffix -ισμός
-ismos "
ism")....
Basic concepts
The basic idea behind hedonistic thought is that pleasure is the
only thing that is good for a person. This is often used as a
justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much
pleasure and how little
pain (i.e.
suffering) they produce. In very simple terms, a
hedonist strives to maximize this net pleasure (pleasure minus
pain). The nineteenth-century British philosophers
John Stuart Mill and
Jeremy Bentham defended the ethical theory of
utilitarianism, according to which we
should perform whichever action maximizes the aggregate good.
Conjoining hedonism, as a view as to what is good for people, to
utilitarianism has the result that all action should be directed
toward achieving the greatest total amount of happiness (Hedonic
Calculus). Though consistent in their pursuit of happiness, Bentham
and Mill’s versions of hedonism differ. There are two somewhat
basic schools of thought on hedonism:
- One school, grouped around Jeremy
Bentham, defends a quantitative approach. Bentham believed that
the value of a pleasure could be quantitatively understood.
Essentially, he believed the value of pleasure to be its intensity
multiplied by its duration - so it was not just the number of
pleasures, but their intensity and how long they lasted that must
be taken into account.
- Other proponents, like John Stuart
Mill, argue a qualitative approach. Mill believed that there
can be different levels of pleasure - higher quality pleasure is
better than lower quality pleasure. Mill also argues that simpler
beings (he often refers to pigs) have an easier
access to the simpler pleasures; since they do not see other
aspects of life, they can simply indulge in their lower pleasures.
The more elaborate beings tend to spend more thought on other
matters and hence lessen the time for simple pleasure. It is
therefore more difficult for them to indulge in such "simple
pleasures" in the same manner.
Critics of the quantitative approach assert that, generally,
"pleasures" do not necessarily share common traits besides the fact
that they can be seen as "pleasurable." Critics of the qualitative
approach argue that whether one pleasure is higher than another
depends on factors other than how pleasurable it is. For example,
some people may see the pleasure of
satanism as a more base pleasure because it is
morally unpalatable to them, and not because it is lacking in
pleasure.
In the medical sciences, the inability to derive pleasure from
experiences that are typically considered pleasurable is referred
to as
anhedonia.
Predecessors
Democritus seems to be the earliest
philosopher on record to have categorically embraced a hedonistic
philosophy; he called the supreme goal of life "contentment" or
"cheerfulness", claiming that "joy and sorrow are the
distinguishing mark of things beneficial and harmful" (
DK 68 B 188).
Cyrenaicism (4th and 3rd centuries B.C.),
founded by
Aristippus of
Cyrene, was one of the earliest Socratic schools, and
emphasized one side only of the Socratic teaching. Taking Socrates'
assertion that happiness is one of the ends of moral action,
Aristippus maintained that pleasure was the supreme good. He found
bodily gratifications, which he considered more intense, preferable
to mental pleasures. They also denied that we should defer
immediate gratification for the sake of long-term gain. In these
respects they differ from the Epicureans.
Epicureanism is considered by some to
be a form of ancient hedonism.
Epicurus
identified pleasure with tranquillity and emphasized the reduction
of
desire over the immediate acquisition of
pleasure. In this way, Epicureanism escapes the preceding
objection: while pleasure and the
highest
good are equated, Epicurus claimed that the highest pleasure
consists of a simple, moderate life spent with friends and in
philosophical discussion.
Egoism
Hedonism can be conjoined with
psychological egoism - the theory that
humans are motivated only by their self interest - to make
psychological hedonism: a purely
descriptive claim which states that agents naturally seek pleasure.
Hedonism can also be combined with
ethical egoism - the claim that individuals
should seek their own good - to make
ethical
hedonism the claim that we
should act so as to
produce our own pleasure.
However, hedonism is not necessarily related to
egoism. The
utilitarianism of
John Stuart Mill is sometimes classified as
a type of hedonism, as it judges the morality of actions by their
consequent contributions to the greater good and
happiness of all. This is
altruistic hedonism. Whereas some hedonistic
doctrines propose doing whatever makes an individual happiest (over
the long run), Mill promotes actions which make
everyone
happy. Compare
individualism and
collectivism.
It is true that Epicurus recommends for us to pursue our own
pleasure, but he never suggests we should live a selfish life which
impedes others from getting to that same objective.
Some of
Sigmund Freud's theories of
human motivation have been called psychological hedonism ; his
"life instinct" is essentially the observation that people will
pursue pleasure. However, he introduces extra complexities with
various other mechanisms, such as the "
death instinct". The death instinct,
Thanatos, can be equated to the desire for
silence and
peace, for calm and
darkness, which causes them another form of happiness. It is also a
death instinct, thus it can also be the desire for death.
Psychoanalysis has developed greatly since
Freud but his ideas remain influential and contentious.
A modern
proponent of hedonism with an ethical touch is the Swedish
philosopher
Torbjörn
Tännsjö.
See also
References and notes
- Hedonism, 2004-04-20 Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy
- p. 125, C.C.W. Taylor, "Democritus", in C. Rowe & M.
Schofield (eds.), Greek and Roman Political Thought,
Cambridge 2005.
- Cyrenaics, the Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophyat the University of Tennessee at
Martin, Accessed 2007-11-04
- " The Cyrenaics and the Origin of Hedonism."
Hedonism.org. BLTC. Accessed 2007-11-04
- Torbjörn Tännsjö; Hedonistic Utilitarianism
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1998).
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