Hedonism vs. authentic happiness theory of well-being Name: Ida Duvnjak Student number:201703451 Course: Track B Teacher: R. Rodogno Date: 8-11-2017 Philosophical theories of well-being can be divided in subjective and objective theories of well-being. Subjective theories of well-being claim that well-being is dependent on the subject’s attitude of favor and disfavor while objective theories deny that. In this paper, I will discuss two subjective theories of well-being: theory of authentic happiness and hedonism. First, I will point out some important differences between these two theories. Then I will try to criticize hedonism from the perspective of authentic happiness theory and vice versa. Hedonism and theory of authentic happiness …show more content…
Another one is related to the nature of well-being. While hedonism thinks pleasure is constituent of well-being’s nature and all sources of well-being are reducible to pleasure, the theory of authentic happiness claims that pleasure is just one of the sources of well-being. Authentic happiness theory makes two objections regarding the hedonist definition of the nature of …show more content…
The subject can be indifferent or have a negative attitude towards pleasures. For example, one can choose ascetic life and this life doesn’t have to be unhappy. We can see that the subject in authentic happiness theory is autonomous to make a decision about her priorities .On the other hand; hedonist theory is “dogmatically” claiming that a subject’s priority regarding well-being is always to experience life as pleasant. Hedonism is also claiming that the subject is the final arbiter but only in how pleasurable some experience is. However, in hedonist theory, it is the balance of pleasant and unpleasant experiences that decides how life is going for the subject and the subject can’t introduce different parameters. Haybron offers an example of an unhappy farmer to show that happiness and unhappiness cannot be reduced to pleasure and pain. Realization of one’s potentials and aims can be a source of happiness that cannot be reduced to pleasure. Haybron in his book “The pursuit of unhappiness” describes unhappy farmer Henry who wanted to be a train designer. The cause of Henry’s unhappiness is not unpleasantness of being a farmer, but that his life is not in accordance with his aims and desires. This is the reason why giving Henry some “pleasure pill” or “brain implant” wouldn’t solve his problem. Obviously, hedonism can’t
In Andrew Guest’s, “Pursuing the Science of Happiness” he argues the complexity of happiness and the pursuit in which you follow to gain it. The ultimate objective of life for some individuals all through the world is to accomplish the condition of happiness while doing the activities they cherish the most. Each individual satisfies his or her own particular measurement of happiness in different courses, from practicing their most loved game, being with their families and companions, to making a trip to exciting puts over the planet. Guest uses rhetoric and research to carry on his argument that speaks on the idea of reference anxiety, where people change their dreams based on financial standpoint, and they define financial prosperity with their happiness, which is superficial.
Hedonism is basically something that brings pleasure and happiness to someone. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the thing that brings one person's happiness will bring another person the same happiness. Each person seeks their
Happiness is a state of mind, and one doesn’t need physical material to be happy, which a majority of people view to be the primary source of happiness. Simply put, a person has the power to control whether they are happy or not. The author utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos to highlight the main ideas, demonstrating his mastery of the material. His usury of pathos, ethos, and logos illustrate to the readers that happiness is primarily a state of mind which isn’t automatically influenced by material things. Ethos is the ethical appeal an author makes to emphasize his authority as a knowledgeable and experienced veteran who corroborates any particular subject matter.
Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism.
People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the
In a critique of both the works, the paper adopts the Aristotelian thought citing that actions of human aims to fulfill goodness, which arguably is the happiness, one that arises from virtues practiced out of habit. Both the philosophers weigh in heavily on the role of happiness in the day to day lifestyles of humans. Adopting a sharp critic to the conventional principles of utility, Mill recognizes that happiness, as opposed to pleasure has a wider space in human attainments. He goes in deeper to explore the levels of pleasure
Life is complicated and everyone goes through stress no matter who you are and what you do some things will catch you off garde in life. Yet not matter what you should never let the challenges of life consume you or interfere with your life goals. The pursuit of happiness was directed by Gabriele Muccino this movie depicts the real life events of of Chris Gardner and the struggles he went through in life to pursue happiness. In my essay I will be talk about how Chris work hard to pursue his dream jobs also how his stress affected his identity and how without stress u can not find happiness. Viewers need to understand that when a person is in a stressful situation they need to reflect on their identity and their values because they need to
I do think we are in control of our own happiness because I think the human controls how we feel on a day to day bases because of the actions we do so really I do think we control our own happiness just how we control our actions. So One example is our decisions that we do during the day make our happiness because if you start thinking about all this negative stuff you won't be happy therefore like say if your in school and all this negative stuff starts to happen you just got to deal with it because if you don't then that shows that your not a strong person inside and that any little thing will bother and will ruin your day and so if you just know how to deal with it and put it aside and not let it break your happiness then that shows that
Throughout the history, there have been heated discussions on what constitutes a good life. Philosophers have given different annotations on the meaning of good life based on their beliefs, perspectives or even scientific-based evidences. Some view a good life as an accumulation of material goods that brings “large amount” of pleasure to oneself. On the other hand, Mencius and Aristotle advocate good life as possessing of pleasure that incorporates ethical values and they believe that by doing so one will experience enduring happiness. There is no ultimate right or wrong for these interpretations since this is not a factual question.
Among the Ethical Philosophy, which I find to be interesting and different from the beliefs that I have, is the Normative or Ethical Hedonism. Coming from a culture which is highly collective, this ethical philosophy is something interesting to learn as a person who strive to broaden his horizon by learning different ethical philosophy that might different from ours, yet common and acceptable by other culture. As far as our culture is concern, we believe that we must act always according to the will of our conscience and we must always follow the norms of the society for the betterment of all. Normative Hedonism is a theory which suggest that happiness must be always be given a huge importance and as much as possible “pain should be avoided.”
In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.
According to Fredrickson et al. (2013), hedonism can be also defined as “representing an individual’s pleasurable experiences”. Aristotle, in contrast, thought the idea that wellbeing depended on a life of pleasure with no pain was vulgar Aristotle’s view seems fair; after all, some of life’s greatest things come only with a bit of sweat, tears and elbow grease. Then there is the eudaimonic perspective. In the same paper by Fredrickson et al.
Since it is proper to man to act for an end, happiness is man’s “supreme perfection” and the object of his desires. All human acts of man are oriented toward happiness, upon which depends the object of the will, that which is the good. However, motivated by hope, the will’s object can, properly speaking, only regard the good.
How does someone know if they are truly happy? Much of society have come to associate happiness with the pursuits of personal pleasures or that which makes us “feels good”. When we feel good we display positive expression of emotions such as joy, laughter, kindness and fewer negative emotions such as anger, hate, and sadness. To some people our happiness is already determined through our genes. Some people seek happiness through money and material possessions.
At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.