What hedonism says correct answers - the good life= the happy life
- a life is happy to the extent that it is full of pleasure and free of pain
- pleasure and freedom from pain have intrinsic value
- pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things that have intrinsic value- the value of all ...
PHIL 1100- Midterm || very Flawless.
What hedonism says correct answers - the good life= the happy life
- a life is happy to the extent that it is full of pleasure and free of pain
- pleasure and freedom from pain have intrinsic value
- pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things that have intrinsic value- the value of all
other goods is extrinsic
Pro-hedonism 1: the argument from correlation correct answers - happiness is positively
correlated with well-being (the happier you are, the better your life is going)
- the best explanation of the correlation between happiness and well-being is that happiness has
instrinsic value
- hence, happiness (probably) has intrinsic value
- hence, hedonism is (probably) true
Pro-hedonism 2: the argument from many models correct answers - there are many models of a
good life
- the best explanation of the fact that there are many models of a good life is that happiness has
intrinsic value
- hence, happiness (probably) has intrinsic value
- hence, hedonism is (probably) true
Pro-hedonism 3: the argument from care correct answers - we want the people we care about to
be happy
- the best explanation of the fact that we want the people we care about to be happy is that
happiness has intrinsic value
- hence, happiness (probably) has intrinsic value
- hence, hedonism is (probably) true
Against hedonism 1: the argument from evil pleasures correct answers - if hedonism is true, then
happiness that comes from evil deeds is as good as happiness that comes from good deeds
- happiness that comes from evil deeds is not as good as happiness that comes from good deeds
- hence, hedonism is false
Against hedonism 2: the argument from false happiness correct answers - if hedonism is true,
then happiness makes the same contribution to well-being whether it is based on true beliefs or
false ones
- happiness based on false beliefs contributes less to well-being than happiness based on true
beliefs (Nozick's "Experience Machine" thought experiment)
- hence, hedonism is false
Against hedonism 3: the argument from autonomy correct answers - if hedonism is true, then
autonomy contributes to well-being only insofar as it makes us happy
- autonomy sometimes contributes to well-being even when it doesn't make us happy
- hence, hedonism is false
, Against hedonism 4: the argument from life's trajectory correct answers - if hedonism is true,
then the overall quality of a life depends solely on the amount of happiness (and unhappiness) it
contains
- the overall quality of a life also depends on the trajectory of that life
- hence, hedonism is false
Explain Nozick's "experience machine" thought experiment. What does the experiment show,
according to Nozick, and why? correct answers - Experience machine: floating in a tank with
electrodes attached to your brain; capable of simulating whatever experiences we find most
valuable
- Pick experiences for two years, then 10 min-10 hours out of tank, then pick experiences for the
next 2 years
- In tank, you won't know you're there; you think it's all actually happening
- Such a life, Nozick argues, cannot be the best life for us, because it fails to make contact with
reality
1. We want to DO certain things and not just have the experience of doing them
2. We want to BE a certain way, to be a certain sort of person
3. Limits us to a man-made reality, to a world no deeper or more important than which people
can construct
- This is meant to show that the good life is not entirely a function of the quality of our inner
experiences
- Since hedonism measures our well-being in precisely this way, hedonism, says Nozick, must be
mistaken
Explain the "reverse experience machine" thought experiment. How does the experiment present
a challenge to Nozick's case against hedonism? correct answers - In this scenario, you discover
that you have been plugged into the experience machine all along
- Four versions:
- In real life, you are an inmate in a maximum security prison (negative)
- In real life, you are a wealthy artist living in Monaco (positive)
- No information about your real life (neutral)
- your real life is very different from your simulated life (second neutral)
- would you choose to stay plugged in or choose to return to your real life?
- results:
- negative: 13% prefer reality
- positive: 50% prefer reality
- neutral: 54% prefer reality
- second neutral: 41% prefer reality
- in making decisions, people exhibit a status quo bias: they tend to prefer maintaining their
CURRENT position
- results from loss aversion: the loss of the status quo position is felt more keenly than the gain of
alternatives (losses are more painful than gains are pleasurable)
What is the "Argument from Life's Trajectory" argument against hedonism, and how might a
proponent of hedonism challenge it? correct answers - Against hedonism: the argument from
life's trajectory:
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