Hedonism as a theory about well-being (best referred to as Prudential Hedonism) is more specific than Value Hedonism because it stipulates what the value is for. For example, a Value Hedonist would explain the instrumental value of money by describing how the things we can buy with money, such as food, shelter, and status-signifying goods, bring us pleasure or help us to avoid pain. Value Hedonism reduces everything of value to pleasure.

The fact that a copious amount of money has no value if no one ever sells anything reveals that money lacks intrinsic value. Money is an example of an instrumental good its value for us comes from what we can do with it (what we can buy with it). Pleasure is thought to be intrinsically valuable because, even if it did not lead to any other benefit, it would still be good to experience. The term “intrinsically” is an important part of the definition and is best understood in contrast to the term “instrumentally.” Something is intrinsically valuable if it is valuable for its own sake. Hedonism as a theory about value (best referred to as Value Hedonism) holds that all and only pleasure is intrinsically valuable and all and only pain is intrinsically disvaluable. When philosophers discuss hedonism, they are most likely to be referring to hedonism about value, and especially the slightly more specific theory, hedonism about well-being. Philosophers commonly refer to this everyday understanding of hedonism as “Folk Hedonism.” Folk Hedonism is a rough combination of Motivational Hedonism, Hedonistic Egoism, and a reckless lack of foresight. According to non-philosophers, then, a stereotypical hedonist is someone who never misses an opportunity to indulge of the pleasures of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, even if the indulgences are likely to lead to relationship problems, health problems, regrets, or sadness for themselves or others. Non-philosophers tend to think of a hedonist as a person who seeks out pleasure for themselves without any particular regard for their own future well-being or for the well-being of others. When the term “hedonism” is used in modern literature, or by non-philosophers in their everyday talk, its meaning is quite different from the meaning it takes when used in the discussions of philosophers. There is No Coherent and Unifying Definition of Pleasure Pleasure is Not the Only Source of Intrinsic Value Pleasure as Intrinsically Valuable Experience The majority of this article is concerned with describing the important theoretical divisions within Prudential Hedonism and discussing the major criticisms of these approaches. Then, hedonism’s ancient origins and its subsequent development are reviewed. This article begins by clarifying the different types of hedonistic theories and the labels they are often given.

Unfortunately for hedonism, the discussions rarely endorse it and some even deplore its focus on pleasure. Indeed, its appeal is evidenced by the fact that nearly all historical and contemporary treatments of well-being allocate at least some space for discussion of hedonism.

With pleasure and pain so defined, hedonism as a theory about what is valuable for us is intuitively appealing. Thus, a gentle massage and recalling a fond memory are both considered to cause pleasure and stubbing a toe and hearing about the death of a loved one are both considered to cause pain. Hedonists usually define pleasure and pain broadly, such that both physical and mental phenomena are included. As a theory of value, hedonism states that all and only pleasure is intrinsically valuable and all and only pain is intrinsically not valuable. Philosophical hedonists tend to focus on hedonistic theories of value, and especially of well-being (the good life for the one living it). However, the claim that pleasure and pain are the only things of ultimate importance is what makes hedonism distinctive and philosophically interesting. If hedonistic theories identified pleasure and pain as merely two important elements, instead of the only important elements of what they are describing, then they would not be nearly as unpopular as they all are. All hedonistic theories identify pleasure and pain as the only important elements of whatever phenomena they are designed to describe. The term “hedonism,” from the Greek word ἡδονή (hēdonē) for pleasure, refers to several related theories about what is good for us, how we should behave, and what motivates us to behave in the way that we do. Get how many dimensions of pleasure are taken into account in hedonistic calculus ? from screen.

Hedonic calculus example