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This paper presents the Universality Argument that pleasure is goodness. It proceeds from a moral sense theory that analyzes moral concepts as concerned with what all should hope for, feel guilty about, and admire. This requires rejecting the view that moral judgment concerns empirically inaccessible norms governing action. The first premise defines goodness as what should please all. The second premise reduces should to perceptual accuracy. The third premise invokes a standard of universal accuracy: qualitative identity. Since the pleasure of all is accurate solely about pleasure, pleasure is goodness, or universal moral value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several theoretical frameworks have been used to understand exercise adherence. Basic psychological needs (BPN), grounded on self‐determination theory, have received large attention for this purpose. More recently, the hedonic theory and the assumptions related to the exercise characteristics (e.g., intensity) that can bolster positive affective responses have been revitalized. This study aimed to explore the associations between the agreement of current exercise intensity and the one individually preferred, BPN satisfaction/frustration, enjoyment, the intention to continue exercise, and exercise frequency. Additionally, an exploration of the direct and indirect effects while testing sex as a moderator was performed. A sample of 369 exercisers (Mage = 43.6, standard deviation = 12.96; 214 females) enrolled in 26 health clubs participated in this study voluntarily. Data were received in a first‐approach descriptive and correlational analyses. Next, a moderated mediation was performed using model 15 (PROCESS v.4.2). As a result, agreement in preference for exercise intensity was positively associated with enjoyment (r = 0.35), intention (r = 0.43), and all needs satisfaction (ranging from r = 0.12 to r = 0.45) and negatively associated with all needs frustration (ranging from r = −0.15 to r = −0.31). In the moderated mediation analysis, the same pattern of results emerged in direct effects. Indirect effects were significant for autonomy in the enjoyment and frequency models. Findings suggest that promoting an individually adjusted training intensity may foster BPN satisfaction. It appears to be present an independent (of needs) and positive association with exercise enjoyment and intention to continue exercising. Highlights: An agreement between exercise intensity and the one individually preferred can be seen as a need‐supportive toolExercise intensity agreement presents an independent effect on exercise enjoyment and intentionThe way autonomy promotes enjoyment may be different between sexes, a relation that seems to favor menFemales appear to be more dependent on preference agreement to support enjoyment and intention, while in men, this relation appears to be valid only for intention [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I offer an analysis of the moral dimension of Epicurean hedonism, based on two constitutive moments: 1) Epicurus' revaluation of pleasure, and 2) the progressive transition from foolishness to wisdom in the pleasurable life. The first moment considers the reassessment of the identification of pleasure with evil, and the opposition to virtue, in order to examine the basis of the rational and moral foundation of Epicurean hedonism. The second one analyzes the task of reshaping the disposition of the soul through exercises for the cultivation of pleasure directed towards the good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide a coherent new interpretation of the notorious anti-hedonism of Speusippus, Plato's nephew and the second scholarch of the Academy, by reconsidering all the relevant sources concerning his attitude to pleasure, sources that seem to be in tension or even incompatible with each other. By reassessing Speusippus' anti-hedonism and Aristotle's response, it also sheds new light on the Academic debate over pleasure in which he and Aristotle participated. This debate is not merely concerned with the truth and credibility of the arguments for or against hedonism, but also with notable differences among the participants in their understanding of the practical significance of evaluating hedonic experiences. This new picture allows us to better understand Aristotle's selective representation of the intra-school debate and some neglected features of his responses to different interlocutors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will investigate a certain similarity between Origen's response to Celsus' True Logos and the criticisms against Longinus' interpretation of the early pages of Plato's Timaeus made in Proclus' Commentary by a certain Origenes, usually held to be a pagan though without compelling evidence. Origen begins by assuming that 'Celsus' was an Epicurean of that name, even though it has long been obvious that 'Celsus' has adopted a Platonist point of view and that Origen's answers often rely on Plato's authority; in Proclus, Origenes regularly regards Longinus' explanations as turning Plato into a hedonist by having him aim at the reader's pleasure, and at one point Longinus even made reference to Epicurus. The paper uses recent work on the presence in Porphyry and Lucian of alternative names, whether inside philosophic schools or as a nom de plume, to argue that Origen could not be sure of his opponent's identity, but that as he wrote he came to suspect that 'Celsus' was in fact his younger contemporary Longinus, the initial teacher of Porphyry himself. Hence the allusions to his 'philological' tendencies. If this is correct, then there is additional reason to identify Origen with Origenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What makes your life go well for you? In this paper, we give an account of welfare. Our core idea is simple. There are impersonally good and bad things out there: things that are good or bad period, not (or not only) good or bad for someone. The life that is good for you is the life in contact with the good. We'll understand the relevant notion of 'contact' here in terms of manifestation: you're in contact with a value when it is manifest in parts of your life or parts of your life are manifest in it. So, the more the good is manifest in your life, or your life manifest in the good, the better for you. The more the bad is manifest in your life, or your life manifest in the bad, the worse for you. We'll argue that this account is extensionally adequate: it explains the welfare value of achievements, friendships, knowledge, pleasures and virtues. Moreover, it has a number of explanatory virtues: it's unified, elegant and explanatorily powerful. So, we'll suggest, it's an excellent account of welfare, and in many ways superior to its main competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of fun plays a major role in the consumer society. Drawing on a grounded theory approach, we advance a psychological theory of consumer fun. Through an integration of in-depth interviews, narrative analyses, controlled experiments, structural equation modeling, and a photo-ethnography, our multimethod investigation makes four main contributions. First, we show that the experience of fun rests on the combination of two psychological pillars: hedonic engagement and a sense of liberation. Fun is an experience of liberating engagement—a temporary release from psychological restriction via a hedonically engaging activity. Second, we identify four situational facilitators—novelty, social connectedness, spontaneity, and spatial/temporal boundedness—that promote the experience of fun through their effects on hedonic engagement and the sense of liberation. Third, we show that although the psychology of fun is not consumption specific, there is an intimate connection between fun and consumption. Finally, we clarify the relation and distinction between fun and happiness. We discuss implications for our understanding of consumption experiences, business practices related to the engineering of fun, and consumers' own pursuits of fun and happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will demonstrate that the best descriptor of Qohelet is divine hedonist, not absurdist, skeptic, pessimist, realist, nihilist or "Preacher of Joy." This will be done by examining the relationship between Qohelet's hebel -judgments and his carpe diem ethic and comparing Qohelet's strategy with that of philosopher David Hume. Qohelet's hebel -judgments serve to deconstruct the traditional formulation of the Tun-Ergehen-Zusammenhang , opening space for legitimating his preferred ethic: the carpe diem. In other words, Qohelet rhetorically paints a dark and dreary world in order to buttress his main ethic, the carpe diem, an ethic that is both hedonistic (using philosophical classification) in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain (reflected in his God-fearing motif), and divine in that this ethic must align with God's mysterious decrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the conditions under which an agent has an aesthetic reason to stop appreciating something? In this paper, I argue that such a reason is dependent not only on the aesthetic properties of the object of appreciation but also on the hedonic state of the agent. Virtuous aesthetic agents who are responsive to aesthetic reasons need to be sensitive to hedonic changes in relation to the object and to recognise when these changes make it appropriate to sever one's appreciative focus. The resulting view has implications for how to understand aesthetic fittingness, aesthetic obligation, and the difference between aesthetic and moral reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The psychological traits of a mother, particularly her relationship with her child, have a significant impact on her lack of pleasure-seeking behaviors. Aim: This research aimed to explore the correlation between the quality of the mother-child relationship and the strategies of thought suppression and absence of pleasure-seeking in mothers of children with autism. Method: In this descriptive-correlational research, the study population comprised all mothers of children with autism in the city of Ahvaz (Iran) during 2020-2021. A sample of 200 individuals was selected using a convenience sampling technique. Data was gathered using the Pianta’s Child-Parent Interaction Questionnaire (1994), Wells and Davies’ Thought Control Questionnaire (1994), and Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (1995). Pearson correlation and regression analysis were performed SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 22 statistical software for data analysis. Results: The results indicated that all path coefficients, with the exception of social control, had significant correlations with the absence of pleasure-seeking (p=0.74, β=0.02). Furthermore, the indirect relationships between the quality of the mother-child relationship and distraction(p=0.023, β=0.175), worry(p=0.005, β=0.151), punishment(p=0.004, β=-0.178), and appraisal (p=0.026, β=0.144) were significant when mediated by the absence of pleasure-seeking. However, social control did not show a significant correlation with the quality of the mother-child relationship when mediated by the absence of pleasure-seeking (p=0.549, β=-0.017). Conclusion: The results of the study underscore the direct predictive role of distraction, worry, punishment, and appraisal in Quality of the Mother-Child, with Absence of Pleasure-Seeking an indirect role. Therefore, by controlling thoughts, we can anticipate improved performance, as well as increased pleasure-seeking behaviors in these mothers. This, in turn, is expected to improve the interaction between mothers and their children with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nicomachean Ethics 7.7 (= Eudemian Ethics 6.7), Aristotle distinguishes softness (malakia) from lack of self-control (akrasia) and endurance (karteria) from self-control (enkrateia). This paper argues that unqualified softness consists of a disposition to give up acting to avoid the painful toil (ponos) required to execute practical resolutions, and (coincidentally) to enjoy the pleasures of rest and relaxation. The enduring person, in contrast, persists in her commitments despite the painful effort required to enact them. Along the way, I argue that this interpretation qualifies our understanding of the pleasures and pains with which temperance and intemperance are concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Pleasure motivates humans in pleasant and unpleasant behaviors. Numerous ethical schools have discussed pleasure. Some schools have embraced hedonism. One of these schools is utilitarianism. In the Holy Qur’an, many verses about pleasure are mentioned. These verses are discussed in the form of resurrection, social reform, food and clothing, etc. Since Jeremy Bentham's principles of hedonism have had a great impact on philosophers, thinkers, social laws, and the culture and lifestyle of people, the present article is an explanation of pleasure from Jeremy Bentham's viewpoint and compares it with verses of the Qur’an. METHOD & FINDING: The library data collection and information processing method is descriptive-analytical critical. A finding of this article is to explain the similarities and differences of Jeremy Bentham's view compared to the verses of the Holy Qur’an. CONCLUSION: After the studies, we concluded that in both perspective hedonism and its excitatory aspect in humans with psychological hedonism, there are also points of disagreement: In the verses of the Qur’an, unlike Bentham, the pleasures of the hereafter and its preference over the pleasures of this world have been emphasized and the other that in the Qur’an, hedonism is not accepted in an absolute. Also, some of the blessings of the hereafter are mentioned in the Qur’an. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Book 3 of the Tusculans , Cicero reports that the Cyrenaics practised the premeditation of future evils. This article focuses on the philosophical consistency of this exercise with other Cyrenaic testimonies. It argues for the authenticity of Cicero's report and provides a critical survey of previous attempts to reconstruct the theory underlying Cyrenaic premeditation, which addresses crucial questions about the management of future pleasures and pains, and the duration of affections. New evidence from Diogenes Laertius 2.94 is then used to support an alternative interpretation of the Cyrenaic praemeditatio malorum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of two Subjective well-being orientations, hedonism (maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain) and eudemonia (a desire for meaningful life), in prosocial behavior toward a close help recipient versus a distant one. Study 1 examined individual differences in levels of hedonism and eudemonia, while studies 2 and 3 used a priming manipulation to enhance the salience of the two orientations. In all three studies we found that these orientations interact with the attributes of the help recipient during the decision to help. Specifically, hedonism was found to be positively associated with prosocial acts when the recipient was presented as a close other (a friend, as opposed to an unfamiliar student; or a specific identified target, as opposed to a general one). Conversely, eudemonia predicted greater donations to more general or distant causes. A moderated mediation analysis (Study 3) suggests that the hedonic orientation increased donations specifically to closer recipients (the identified victim), due to the heightened emotional reaction raised by this help target. However, the increased donations to the general help target under eudemonic orientation was not driven by emotional reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The workshop ""Imagining what's next". Reflections upon genders and sexualities, writing and editorial practices", held by teachers of the Philosophy and Literature Faculty's Prison Outreach Program of the University of Buenos Aires, was an experience of re-entry and reconstruction of the pedagogical territory of the Ezeiza University Center of the IV Federal Penitentiary Complex, in Argentina, after the pandemic years' hardships. It is therefore worthwhile to observe, systematize and conceptualize the resources and strategies that teachers and students alike deployed as part of the process of re-engaging within the classroom. It is our purpose to contribute to the study on the literary, intimate, academic, political, and affective mechanisms that make up the field of pedagogical territories in prison. We approached several scenes and texts produced in this framework from the three disciplines that made up the workshop. We sought to explore the power of writing, editorial and pedagogical practices to counteract prison logics and create ways of repairing the damage inflicted on incarcerated persons. Thus, the community-building processes and the recourse to pleasure and desire as practices of resistance appear as guiding lines of the workshop we analyze in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneity problem, which stems from the alleged difficulty of finding out what all pleasant experiences have in common, is largely considered as a substantial issue in the philosophy of pleasure, one that is usually taken as the starting point for theorizing about the essence of pleasure. The goal of this paper is to move the focus away from the heterogeneity problem and toward an alternative approach to pleasure. To do this, I first show that, although the approach stemming from the heterogeneity problem has led to an interesting discussion about the essence of pleasure, it has usually endorsed an introspectionist methodology and other problematic assumptions that have led to doubtful results. I thus propose a natural‐kind approach to pleasure, which seeks to determine what, if any, the natural kind of pleasure would consist in. This approach broadens the investigation of pleasure by enabling the use of a larger range of methodological tools, thus opening new promising directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One argument against epiphenomenalism arises from the theory of evolution. A particularly powerful form of this argument was developed by William James. James argued against epiphenomenalism on the grounds that, if it were correct, it would be inexplicable why the things that we find pleasurable are mostly beneficial to us while the things we find painful are mostly harmful. The aim of the present paper is to defend and extend James's argument. James's argument is here defended against criticisms due to Karl Popper, John Eccles and William Robinson. Recently, an argument similar to James's has been developed by Hedda Hassel Mørch. Mørch argues that the phenomena to which James drew our attention can be explained if we say pleasure and pain have phenomenal powers. In the present paper it is argued that, as it stands, the argument developed by Mørch is not satisfactory. It is argued that Mørch's account needs to be supplemented with the thesis that the self has certain causal powers. A similar addition, it is argued, needs to be made to a position defended by Bradford Saad. The paper argues that, supplemented with the appropriate attributions of causal powers to the self, James's argument against epiphenomenalism is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Thomas More's Utopia represents not a pleasurable alternative world, but rather a debate on how to make life more pleasurable in the actual world. It involves a tussling with questions of truth in an age in which unifying transcendental answers were giving way to more instrumental solutions as demanded by the growth of mercantile city-states. This article traces the function of pleasure in Utopia as a dialectically mediating agent on the recognition that pleasure is available only in compromised form. For More, solutions must be sought through the mind's capacity to form agreeable relations out of contradictions. It implies assembling meaning from the perspectives Utopia provides, and a constant balancing and rebalancing process in search of an overall point of view that may give pleasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Richard Kraut argues that Neo-Aristotelian ethics should include a com-mitment to "diluted hedonism," according to which the exercise of a developed life-capacity is good for S only if and partly because S enjoys it. I argue that the Neo-Aristotelian should reject diluted hedonism for two reasons: first, it compro-mises the generality and elegance of the initial developmentalist account; second, it leads to mistaken evaluations of some of the most important and ennobling capacities and activities in human life. Finally, I argue that a more plausible ac-count of the place of pleasure in the good life derives from Aristotle's discussion in book X of the Nicomachean Ethics: pleasure is a supervenient good that signifies the value of the underlying capacity and activity, but it is not a necessary condition for their goodness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finally, according to I the Narrative Account i , an upward-sloping life is better than a downward-sloping life when and because it features certain narrative relations between discrete events in one's life, such as when one suffers a misfortune and then learns from it, or when an effort is turned into a success rather than a waste. These lives are permutations of each other - in the sense that, for every temporal segment with some amount of well-being in one life, there is exactly one such segment in the other life, and so on - so the simple view regards them as equally good. According to Michael Slote's I Temporal Location Account i , an upward-sloping life is better than a downward-sloping life because what happens later in life has greater weight in determining the life's overall value. Perhaps we find Germain's life to be in one respect tragic because, although her life is worth living in virtue of all the good things that happened to her, the fact that she fell short of her potential somehow makes her life not worth creating. [Extracted from the article]

The article delves into the phenomenology of pain and pleasure as discussed by philosophers Michel Henry and Emmanuel Levinas. It examines their alternative approaches to traditional phenomenology, which they argue fails to adequately address the immediate and affective nature of these experiences. The article explores their views on immanence and transcendence, as well as the implications of their critiques for our understanding of affective life. It also discusses the concepts of affectivity, pain, pleasure, and enjoyment as explored by Henry and Levinas, highlighting their similarities and differences. The text concludes by emphasizing the irreducible heterogeneity of pain and pleasure and the ethical responsibility that pain creates to help others in their suffering. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Hypnos is the property of Hypnos / Instituto Hypnos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Positive affective responses to exercise have been linked to longer-term adherence. The dual-mode model indicates that affective responses during heavy exercise (between the ventilatory threshold and the respiratory compensation point) are subject to interindividual variability (zone of response variability). Participants (N = 48) completed measures to assess personal characteristics prior to a graded exercise test. Responses to the Feeling Scale were recorded during the graded exercise test and subsequently used to group participants as either negative responders or neutral/positive responders to heavy exercise. Discriminant function analysis was applied, and a significant weighted linear composite predicted affective response. Preference for exercise intensity and sex were significant predictors (p = .003). Negative responders had lower preference scores and were more likely to be men. The combination of these two variables successfully predicted group membership 71% of the time. Individual differences appear relevant when examining affective responses to heavy exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent behaviour is influenced by their surrounding environment and by them being an active agent in shaping their own environment. The ability to adjust to campus environments is associated with certain psychosocial factors, including parental support and peer attachment. The majority of adolescents with moderate and high levels of hedonistic behaviour were found among undergraduate students. It was discovered that millennials explore identity theory more by utilizing all the conveniences of fintech services to achieve their financial goals. The development of fintech in Indonesia continues to advance, one of which is a new breakthrough that has emerged and is widely discussed, named Spaylatter. The purpose of this study was to determine the moderating effect of peer attachment on the hedonistic behaviour of undergraduate students in Jombang. By using a post-positivist approach, the case study is a limited system. In this study, it was found that the pattern of life is influenced by opinion, interest, and activity. It is found that the Credit option is used when it is a situation of urgency, not having funds or facing a financial problem. It also found that hedonistic lifestyle behaviours include buying just for pleasure and being the centre of attention. Based on the results of research and observations, the following conclusions can be drawn: pattern of life is influenced by the opinion of someone who is affected by the program, credit options are used in times of urgency, from this credit option, it can lead to a hedonic lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author discusses the queerness of pleasure in "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. Other topics include the book "Queer Philologies: Sex, Language, and Affect in Shakespeare's Time," how the Edenic sweetness is queer as seen in the association of male-male intimacy, and the proponents of hedonism like Greek philosopher Epicurus.

Copyright of Mukaddime Journal is the property of Mukaddime Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of the College Of Basic Education is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the relationship between pleasure and the Good in Levinas's ethics. Firstly, the paper points out that, for Levinas, pleasure and the Good are both essentially related to sensibility, except that pleasure is concerned with the self-affection of sensibility, and the Good is concerned with the hetero-affection of sensibility. The self-affection of pleasure and enjoyment enables the subject to locate and contract itself, and thus to establish an inner and separated self. Meanwhile, the Good is originated from the hetero-affection of the call of the transcendent Other, and is embodied in an involuntary suffering for the other's suffering, weakness, and needs. Secondly, the paper argues that the relationship between pleasure and the Good is highly tensional. On the one hand, the Good does interrupt the egoism of life and its pleasure. On the other hand, pleasure actually constitutes a necessary condition for the Good, rather than something that must be rejected. The intersection of pleasure and the Good constitutes an insurmountable and irreducible tension within subjectivity. Finally, the paper places Levinas's ethics in a dialogue with hedonism, virtue ethics, asceticism, and deontology, and regards Levinas's ethics as a new paradigm for understanding the relationship between pleasure and the Good in the history of Western ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleasure is an important component of the contemporary culture of consumption. The pursuit of it is encouraged by, inter alia, media, shopping malls, but also other types of institutions. This incentive is conveyed through, inter alia, advertising. Symptoms of this culture can also be observed at universities. Today's students are only familiar with this reality and have no experience of the “culture of scarcity”. Therefore, it is worth asking if young women desire pleasure, whether it is important to them, and what is its place among other aspirations. The aim of the article is to analyze the hierarchy of values of young women and the position of pleasure in it. This will be achieved through referring to their choices of important values in life - those which constitute the meaning of their lives, and the priority of moral values or pleasure as essential criteria for selection. Among the surveyed women, “the hedonists” will also be indicated - namely women who indicated pleasure as their supreme value - and their axiological choices will be analyzed. The analysis is based on the results of the study “Academic youth on family and religion 2020” conducted among academic youth in 2020 by the Research Laboratory of the Polish Measurement of Attitudes and Values (PPPiW), in which the author of the article also participated.

The paradox of hedonism is arguably one of the most powerful anti-hedonist arguments. This argument tells us that, because it is self-defeating and irrational to single-mindedly pursue pleasure, pleasure cannot represent the only thing that directly makes us better off. We intend to show in this paper that some of the main elements in Epicurus' ethical position enable him to avoid the negative conclusion of this paradox. We also argue that central claims of the Cyrenaics' hedonism - specifically that only the experience of present pleasure has intrinsic value, and that we should pursue whatever brings pleasure now - make their ethical position especially vulnerable to this paradox. In conclusion, we argue that the fact that Epicurus can, while the Cyrenaics cannot, cope with the paradox of hedonism clearly represents a favorable characteristic of his ethical position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work distinguishes between three types of psychological experience: desires that are stimulated by pleasure; emotions such as anger, gratitude, shame, and also fear, which involve valuations, whether pragmatic or ethical; and despondency or athumia, which is induced by a sense of helplessness and aporia. The first of these is governed by self-control, enkrateia or sôphrosunê, as the corresponding virtue. Emotions are subject to a different psychic mechanism, involving a proper evaluation of the conditions that provoke them. Finally, despondency or athumia constitutes yet another category, as a state of passivity, of loss of agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whatever the finer details, Francis Hutcheson is clearly some form of proto-, quasi-, pseudo-utilitarian. But for any utilitarian, the full picture of their moral theory will only emerge once we understand their theory of the good. What, according to said utilitarian, is the nature of happiness? How do we aggregate happiness across persons? In this paper, I discuss two important aspects of Hutcheson's utilitarian axiology each with their own puzzles of interpretation. The first involves Hutcheson's theory of happiness or the 'natural good'. Hutcheson appears to vacillate between a quantitative hedonism (according to which the value of a pleasure just concerns its intrinsic pleasurableness; its intensity and duration) and a qualitative hedonism (according to which pleasures are not simply judged given their intensity and duration, but also a further qualitative operator). The second concerns Hutcheson's aggregative axiology. Hutcheson appears to offer three inconsistent approaches to understanding the overall good. Bringing these puzzles to light, I think, brings forward a number of challenges in understanding the normative ethics of a key figure in the development of utilitarian moral thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this short essay, we read Dan Brouwer's scholarship on HIV rhetoric through the philosophical lens of hedonics, a branch of ethics that preoccupies itself with the relationship between duty and pleasure. In doing so, we draw attention to the corporeal, affective, and symbolic dimensions of pleasure inherent in his writings. We gesture toward three ethics cultivated from Brouwer's work: an ethics of legibility, of multiplicity, and of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the critical tradition reads the Middle English poem Cleanness as a homophobic endorsement of heteronormativity, this article insists that the fourteenth-century poem contributes to a much more interesting moment in the history of sexuality. Cleanness includes one of the most shocking celebrations of sexual pleasure from the Middle Ages: without any reference to procreation, God exhorts Abraham to participate in the "play of paramours," whereby a lover and his beloved discover through their passionate love the visio Dei, bringing about paradise on earth. Reading the poet's celebration of pleasure alongside Audre Lorde's conception of the erotic, this article discovers in Cleanness a discourse of liberation that sought to realize a more equitable, less violent, world through a sexual pleasure that feels like ecstatic union with God. The poem contributes to a counter-discourse from the end of the Middle Ages that sought in contemplative practices a recuperation of primal "cleanness" and a licensing of pleasure. Such claims to cleanness, however, often resulted in justifications for rapacious violence. The poet maintains the real possibility of recovering this lost pleasure, but he insists on the risk inherent in claims to cleanness. By walking this line between pleasure and hedonism, the poet acknowledges a much more nuanced medieval moralization of sexual pleasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If reactions to Nozick's experience machine reveal a pervasive reluctance to choose a pleasurable virtual life over humdrum reality, that may indicate that most people are not intuitively hedonistic. However, recent work argues that popular reactions to his vignette fail to show this, due to various factors that confound people's intuitions. Survey results on alternative experience machine scenarios cast doubt on Nozick's assumption that most people are antagonistic to hedonism. Some surveys even show a majority endorsing a modified experience machine. Does this imply that a majority of people are open to hedonism? I argue not. Nozick's experience machine and its variants all fail to effectively target hedonism because they offer more than mere pleasure – they offer a rich experiential life of manifold opportunities, possibly including opportunities to pursue non-hedonistic goals, such as truth, beauty or philosophy. As an alternative, I propose the Universal Pure Pleasure Machine, which avoids the pitfalls of other thought experiments and provides a more targeted probe of intuitions toward hedonism. Experimental evidence reveals a widespread rejection of this hedonistic fantasy. This bolsters Nozick's assumption that most people are not satisfied with hedonism, thus supporting his argument that hedonism is a deficient theory of value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleasure is an important component of the contemporary culture of consumption. The pursuit of it is encouraged by, inter alia, media, shopping malls, but also other types of institutions. This incentive is conveyed through, inter alia, advertising. Symptoms of this culture can also be observed at universities. Today's students are only familiar with this reality and have no experience of the “culture of scarcity”. Therefore, it is worth asking if young women desire pleasure, whether it is important to them, and what is its place among other aspirations. The aim of the article is to analyze the hierarchy of values of young women and the position of pleasure in it. This will be achieved through referring to their choices of important values in life - those which constitute the meaning of their lives, and the priority of moral values or pleasure as essential criteria for selection. Among the surveyed women, “the hedonists” will also be indicated - namely women who indicated pleasure as their supreme value - and their axiological choices will be analyzed. The analysis is based on the results of the study “Academic youth on family and religion 2020” conducted among academic youth in 2020 by the Research Laboratory of the Polish Measurement of Attitudes and Values (PPPiW), in which the author of the article also participated.

Aesthetic hedonism is the default theory of aesthetic value. Some of its critics share with it a pair of unquestioned assumptions, namely, that any theory of aesthetic value should make special appeal to its being the case that the canonical form of aesthetic evaluation is a state of pleasure and to its being the case that the canonical purpose of aesthetic acts is to access pleasure. This paper argues that there is reason to doubt both assumptions. Doubting both assumptions suggests a wider range of alternatives to aesthetic hedonism and primitivist inversions of aesthetic hedonism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Seminare Learned Investigations / Seminare. Poszukiwania naukowe is the property of Francis de Sales Scientific Society / Towarzystwo Naukowe Franciszka Salezego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)