Ethics: Hedonism and Pleasure Essay

1) The difference between physical and attitudinal pleasure is that one is something that you can hold and grab, while the other is something that is in your mind. To expand, physical pleasure is a temporary thing. For an example: Eating key lime pie. Eating this specific pie for some people give them pleasure because it tastes good; however, when the consumption is complete, the taste eventually goes away along with the pleasure. On the other hand, attitudinal, or psychological pleasure, is a perpetual kind of happiness instead of the momentary pleasure that physical pleasure gives you. Hedonists take the side that attitudinal pleasure is intrinsically valuable; however this distinction is solely based on the fact that attitudinal please has a more lasting effect then that of its counterpart. Yet, hedonists attract and claim this position because each person is different, and the freedom to follow what makes for a good life is individualistic. 2) The Hedonism theory claims that all pleasures are intrinsically good, and that nothing other than pleasure is intrinsically good. However my objection to this statement is that the overall life satisfaction is not acquired through experiencing constant pleasures, and that experiences life only through chasing pleasurable actions will only end unpleasant. Also, hedonism states that good is pleasure and bad is pain. In distinction, if having an appetite is painful (bad) and satisfying an appetite is pleasant (good), a person will experience both pleasure and pain when satisfying an appetite. Therefore feeling pleasure and feeling pain are not the same as doing well and doing badly. Page40-41 2) If I had the chance to get into the â€Å"experience machine† I would not, because the experience machine is known to counter ethical hedonism. Doing so would only be contradictory towards my belief of hedonism. One of the arguments against plugging into the experience machine is that the experience machine limits people to a man-made reality. Gaining enjoyment without actions defeats the purpose of experiences; therefore, residual happiness is destroyed because you had no drive or will to gain that happiness. 5) I believe the strongest objection towards hedonism is that feeling pleasure and feeling pain are not the same as doing well and doing bad. A hedonist would state that all pleasure is good and pain is bad; however, one can experience pain and pleasure at the same time, which makes neither of them good or bad.