Hedonism

Abstract

Abstract Hedonism is among the oldest, simplest, and most widely discussed theories of value – theories that tell us what makes the world better or what makes a person's life go better. It is in fact among the very oldest of philosophical doctrines still defended today, dating back to the Indian philosopher Cārvāka around 600 BCE and the Greek philosopher Aristippus around BCE . Hedonism, in a word, is the view that “pleasure is the good.” In its most comprehensive form, hedonism about value holds that the only thing that ultimately ever makes the world, or a life, better is its containing more pleasure or less pain. The term “hedonism” is also sometimes used to refer to doctrines about other topics. “Universal hedonism” sometimes stands for the view that we ought to bring the greatest balance of pleasure over pain into the world that we can ( see Utilitarianism), and “psychological hedonism” the view that all human behavior is motivated ultimately by desires to obtain pleasure or avoid pain. Our topic here is hedonism about value.