Pleasure principle

known for being based on the principle of maximizing the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. Jermey Bentham is the founder of this political school of thought. Bentham says that people are “under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure .” He uses these two masters as the justification for why his utilitarian system is the way that it is. Bentham’s utilitarianism focuses on the three factors: “the greatest individual pleasure or good”, “the greatest…

describing the presence of pleasure and pain in a blessed life Epicurus writes that “we are in need of pleasure only when we are in pain because of the absence of pleasure, and when we are not in pain, then we no longer need pleasure” (Epicurus Letter to Menoeceus). This quote written by Epicurus in Letter to Menoeceus describes the ability of pleasure to remove pain, however from this quote alone one could misunderstand the nature of the pleasure Epicurus suggests seeking. The pleasure one…

Utilitarianism, on the other hand, states that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequences (Matti, 1994). Mill said: “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness”. Ideally, if gene editing follows the rules of utilitarianism, it should be a technique that leads to the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people (Matti 1994). The happiness such as: couples will no longer have to anxious about the possible genetic diseases. This positive motive…

happiness: the fulfillment of pleasure. In Hedonism, it is suggested that the acquirement of pleasure should be everyone’s main priority. Evidently, the practice of Hedonism is also associated with egoism, which claims that people should do things for their own good and prioritize their happiness before anything or anyone else ("Hedonism"). Similarly, Epicureanism also suggests that people should seek to maximize their happiness through the fulfillment of pleasures, but unlike Hedonism,…

When someone is making a decision for themselves, they should make the decision that maximizes their own utility. For example, if someone is choosing between a Snickers bar and a Twix bar, and they know that the Snickers bar will bring them more pleasure, or more utility, then they should choose the Snickers bar. The two forms of utilitarians are very similar. Act utilitarians basically say that you should take any action you need to in order to maximize utility. This seems to be the “hardcore”…

Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy. 480-90. As discussed during lectures a hedonist believes that all human actions are to produce pleasure or happiness. Feinberg uses the paradox of hedonism to make a point, which simply is that pursuing only happiness or pleasure does not ultimately result in pleasure or happiness. However, the only way to gain pleasure or happiness is to act without the expectation of happiness. Feinberg uses the paradox of hedonism to strengthen his argument…

Christopher Nolan, the genius behind the movie idea “Inception” created plot that blew people’s mind. Inception was the kind of movie that got people thinking and trying to unravel its complex twist while yet entertained and thrilled. The movie was to showcase a dream within a dream within a dream. Using the term “inception” itself is to place an idea into a characters subconscious while he’s dreaming. Basically the movie was the placement of a simple idea in someone’s head leading them to…

Dandan Zhang PHI 3633 Case A Response Paper In the case of the 19-year-old patient X seeks to get a vasectomy, strong paternalism is evident in the urologist’s refusal to perform the surgery. Paternalism is defined as overriding someone’s actions and decision-making for his own benefit (71). In patient X’s case, his autonomy and ability to make his own rational decision were undermined by the urologist, who stated he was too young to make such a decision. The benefits of this paternalistic act,…

of ethics that focuses on the pleasures and pains of an individual in regard to their actions being beneficial to a majority. The principle question the doctrine seeks to answer is, “What ought a man to do?”, with the outcome being his actions provide the best results possible. As a branch of consequentialism (which, on a wider scale, focuses on an action’s outcome being determined by its consequences), utilitarianism is focused on a measure of pains and pleasures which maximize net utility…

and maximize happiness or pleasure of the overall good in order to be moral. And the happiness of the majority is chosen over happiness or pleasure of the minorities. Utilitarianism takes a quantitative and reductionist measure to deal with ethics. It is the ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies. Utilitarianism’s underlying idea is that happiness and pleasure are fundamentally…