The Pleasure Principle

The view of happiness as well as the role that pleasures and desires play in achieving happiness can be seen throughout Western philosophy. Detailing a hypothetical dinner conversation between Aristotle, Epicurus, Hobbes, and Epictetus, will such an understanding be described. In such an account, I will be detailing: what issue/s each guest would raise; what thesis would each defend, and how each would respond to the other; as well as who is most likely to disagree with whom and on which points,…

The principle of parsimony has a long history dating back to the medieval times when…

argument against Hedonism. Hedonism consists of the only things desirable in the end, which are pleasure and freedom from pains. Nozick's aim in discussing the experience machine is to create a thought experiment that sheds light on what we value in life, which illustrates the argument: Is it better for us to have the experience of being great or is it better for us to be great? Hedonism: the that pleasure, or happiness is the sole or chief good in life (Merriam-Webster, 2018). According to…

for many people. When they think of ‘hedonism’ they might think of someone who is a sexual deviant or one that is purely a pleasure seeking individual, someone in pursuit of ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’. When they think of Egoism, you think of the term egomaniac which is normally a…

teleological perspective of Utilitarianism, guarantees that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.” (Mill, p.54) This ethical theory emphasizes that as reasonable beings that naturally interact and are compelled to settle on choices every day, how those choices are established—our results—assumes a…

UTILITARIANISM: According to John Stuart Mill, the doctrine of Utilitarianism is that happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end; all other things being desirable as means to that end. In applying Utilitarianism to ethical dilemmas, it is important to assess the issue by discerning it as right or wrong based on the virtue of the dilemma’s consequences. With the consequences assessed, the amount of happiness and unhappiness is the only thing relevant to the consequences. It…

The utilitarian theory is based on greatest happiness principle. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, as it judges the rightness and wrongness of an action by its consequences (Arras & et al., n.d). This theory provides us with a decision procedure such as what action produces the greatest net amount of happiness. In other words, this theory will guide us to bring more happiness. Since the patient is unconscious most of the time, and is not in a condition to decide or is not capable of…

Aesthetics revolves around his conception behind the sublime. Kant proposes that all experiences of sublimity evoke the experience of pleasure within the individual experience the sublime. The pleasure derives from a negative liking within the person as they experience displeasure at the awareness of the limitations of their imagination, yet this results in pleasure at knowing the ability of our human reason (Kant, 1987). Kant’s characterisation of the sublime presents a good conception of…

according to which only states of pleasure possess positive intrinsic value (intrinsically good) and only states of pain poses negative intrinsic value (intrinsically bad or evil. This value of hedonistic utilitarianism” (Timmons). ‘Hedonism’ is recognized as ‘pleasure’ in ancient Greek terms. In other simpler terms, the value hedonism orders that pain or pleasure is the basis of a person’s ethical standards. If it brings pain it is bad, and if it brings pleasure it is good. Sex is an example…

of having a favorable balance of pleasure over displeasure” (Haybron 502). This way of thinking concludes that pleasure is the ultimate life goal. Nozick questions readers if they were given a choice between reality and a simulated reality, which option would they choose? This machine gives humans the ability to choose any experience and have no awareness they are floating in a tank. All feelings of sadness, anxiety, and stress would be replaced with endless pleasure, nevertheless, this version…