Pleasure

was able to discover and analyze the text could come to some form of conclusion whether or not Augustine ceased to pursuit of pleasure at the end of his conversion. With the context that was provided through the text along with the Piper’s article on Christian Hedonism, in my personal judgment, I came to the conclusion that Augustine did not cease his pursuit of pleasure after being converted, but would say that he began his journey as a Christian hedonist after his conversion. According to…

Mistakes can be made in choosing good from evil if knowledge of the good is not obtained. In Mill’s Utilitarianism, Mill sees that actions are good if they tend to promote happiness (pleasure and the absence of pain) and bad if they tend to promote the opposite. This principle is what utilitarianism – the maximum pleasure, in the absence of pain, for the most people – is based on. Mill goes on to argue that the only proof that something is desirable, is if people desire it. Happiness is good,…

influence that pleasure can have on the essence of an individual and serves as a warning to those who cease to surrender themselves to pleasures: “Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book. There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful” (124). It symbolizes the backbone of his life; an influence he could not break free from without heading towards ruin. It represents to Dorian Gray the indulgence of sensual pleasures as…

greatest happiness principle. John Stuart Mill, one of the founding active developers of the ethical theory, called this “the creed that considers a particular theory of life”(1). The theory, at first glance, seems to be very basic in it’s foundation. Pleasure vs. pain, good vs. evil and advantageous vs. disadvantageous. Through utilitarianism, one must equate these things with benefit or cost, consciously weighing out the total sum of the effects to see which would overcome. So what problems…

produce the reverse of happiness” (Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, Chapter 5). Mill defines happiness as pleasure and absence of pain. According to Mill, morality is based on the quality and quantity of pleasure produced by an action. It is not what you do, but how much of pleasure is produced by your action is what defines the morality. Everyone desires for pleasure and happiness at the end, happiness is everyone’s goal. Thus, any event or action is desirable only if leads to…

Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is based on the idea that our moral worth of our actions is only determined by its involvement to overall utility in maximizing happiness or pleasure in society. It is, then, the total utility of individuals which is important here, the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. “Utility, after which the doctrine is named, is a measure in economics of the relative satisfaction from, or desirability of, the consumption of goods.” (mustin, 2008) It seems…

amount of people. Happiness is equal to the pleasure and the absence of pain. Bentham’s idea of pleasure falls under three points; intensity (how strong), duration (how long lasting), and the propinquity (how soon). Later Mill’s added to the utilitarianism by distinguishing the qualities of pleasure. These pleasures can be categorized as higher and lower pleasures. Higher pleasure can consist of intellectual and involves serving others. Lower pleasures consist of sensate and selfish.…

results in the opposite of happiness, the action is not in accordance with the Principle of Utility. As John Stuart Mill explains it in the book Utilitarianism, “By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure”. Happiness is attributed to pleasure as a human emotion .For a clear understanding of what sense of happiness is used in regards to the Principle of Utility, consider this explanation of happiness. Humans attribute things…

played by Robin Williams in Patch Adams, a film about a medical student who suffers from depression, also shares that idea. Although differing in reasons, the philosophies of Dr. Patch Adams ad Epicurus coincide: happiness is obtained through simple pleasures, a life of wisdom is acquired through nonconformity, and death should not be feared. According to both Epicurus and Patch, a life filled with content is sought through the harmony of the body and the world, as well as appreciating the…

us under the governance of “Two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. For pain and pleasure dictates how we live, the decisions we make and the chains of cause and effect. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure” (Sandel, 2007). While determining these factors, problems begin to arise. What is defined as pleasure and what is considered pain? One can argue that pleasure, and a freedom from anything-painful are the only ideals…