What Is Hedonism?
Pleasure is the highest good, the supreme ideal of life, according to hedonism.
• A hedonist, in simple terms, seeks to maximise net pleasure (pleasure minus pain). Ethical hedonism is the belief that everyone has the right to use all of their resources to obtain the greatest amount of pleasure possible. It's also the idea that everyone's pleasure should be far greater than their pain.
• Hedonism assesses human actions based on their consequences, such as pleasure and pain.
• The value of human behaviour is proportional to the amount of pleasure it provides. Pleasure is the standard of morality for Hedonism, and a right action is one that brings pleasure. A bad action is one that causes pain.
PSYCHOLOGICAL HEDONISM AND ETHICAL HEDONISM
• Psychological Hedonism and Ethical Hedonism are the two types of Hedonism. Psychological Hedonism believes that pleasure is the natural object of desire. Man is wired to seek pleasure.
• It is a fact that psychological hedonism exists. Pleasure is the proper object of desire, according to Ethical Hedonism. It is natural for a person to seek pleasure. Ethical Hedonism is a value statement.
• Egoistic Hedonism and Universalistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism are two types of ethical hedonism. Individual pleasure is the highest good for Egoistic Hedonism.
• The highest good, according to Universalistic Hedonism or Utilitarianism, is the pleasure of a large number of people.
• To put it another way, Egoistic Hedonism seeks individual pleasure while Universalistic Hedonism seeks general happiness rather than individual pleasure.
ETHICAL HEDONISM-GROSS AND REFINED
• Ethical Hedonism (whether Egoistic or Universalistic) is divided into two types: crude and refined.
• Sensual pleasures are prioritised by gross Hedonism.
• All pleasures are the same, and the only difference is in the intensity with which they are experienced. It is preferable to enjoy present pleasures over future pleasures.
• Mental and more subtle, fine pleasures are given more weight in refined hedonism. Refined hedonism acknowledges the importance of reason in the pursuit of pleasure.