Philosophy discussion

What are your thoughts on hedonism?

I think hedonism makes sense if you’ve lived through enough pain to know that pleasure isn’t something to be ashamed of

Osha wrote: "I think hedonism makes sense if you’ve lived through enough pain to know that pleasure isn’t something to be ashamed of"

I agreed. I practice it every day. Enjoy and cherish life.

It's an inferior moral philosophy in that it requires endless relative evaluations of ephemeral emotional states in order to gauge if an action was good or evil.

At least Utilitarianism attempts to tie its moral calculus to real world impacts.

Or are we discussing the wanton degeneracy of those who have completely surrendered to their own base desires?

Is hedonism a moral philosophy, though? Or an amoral one?

Skallagrimsen wrote: "Is hedonism a moral philosophy, though? Or an amoral one?"

Utilitarianism posits "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." (Thank you for the simplification, Mr. Spock.) That is a moral position. Hedonism (capital H) is the subset of Utilitarianism which defines the greater good as the greatest happiness.

Small h hedonism is degeneracy.

But not a moral philosophy?

Skallagrimsen wrote: "But not a moral philosophy?"

It literally ties moral value to happiness.

My sense was that "small h hedonism" tends to reject the idea of morality altogether. "Good," from this perspective, is a subjective feeling, not a transcendent value. Therefore what feels good is good, by definition. I presume hedonism also equates pleasure and happiness. They are one and the same. (To be clear, I reject that claim.)