Friday, July 07, 2006

Hedonism and Utilitarianism same sides of the same coin?

Hedonism: Take the action that produces the greatest pleasure.
I can’t help but relate it to a form of Utilitarianism, A moral code dictating the greatest good for the greatest number of people, but both Utilitarianism and Hedonism face criticisms that can not be ignored.

Questions :

  • Where is the value of an individual in all this? Surely the greatest good doesn’t do him/her justice.
  • Are they both one and the same only when the greatest pleasure is also the greatest good? Or, does the fact that Hedonism dictates self love while Utilitarianism dictates love of the group mean they are mutually exclusive?
  • What’s to be said in response to “where one may find pleasure another may find pain”
    How are the scales calibrated in such an instance and how does change the arrival at an all encompassing moral code?
  • How is pleasure measured and what are the criteria of labeling an action as pleasurable as opposed to non pleasurable?

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