Instrumental vs. Intrinsic Value
Instrumental
To be valuable because it is a means to getting you something else desirable.
A tool used to achieve a goal
Intrinsic
To be valuable in itself; valuable for its own sake.
It is good or desirable on its own.
Examples
Instrumental Examples
Food for nourishment.
Honesty for trust and strong relationships.
Money to buy things.
Intrinsic Examples
Happiness
Justice
Knowledge
Beauty
Health
Hedonism: thesis that pleasure and pleasure alone is intrinsically good, pain and pain alone is intrinsically bad.
Types of Hedonists
Sensualists
All pleasure=”sensual titillation”
Pleasure experienced through the physical senses.
Ex. Eating a good meal.
Ex. Watching a sunset.
Ex. Sexual pleasure.
Satisfactionists
Pleasure satisfaction or enjoyment that may or may not involve sensuality.
A pleasurable state of consciousness, not just initial feeling of happiness.
Ex. Accomplishing a goal.
Ex. Receiving a gift.
Ex. Learning something new.
NONHEDONISTS
Nonhedonists
Monists
Believe that there is one intrinsic good but it is not happiness.
This does not necessarily mean they know what it is.
Ex. Plato believes in the “form” of the good.
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Pluralists
Can believe that happiness is an intrinsic pleasure, but it is not the only one.
They can believe other things are also intrinsically valuable like freedom, love, friendship, etc.
Attractions to Hedonism
Attractions
Intuitive: everyone seems to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
Simplicity: clear guiding principle on value.
Practical: ties into psychology and economics (dopamine, reward system).
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical framework that defines right actions as those that produce the greatest overall good, typically defined as happiness and well-being, for the greatest number of people affected.
Utilitarianism main features
Utilitarianism’s main features:
Consequentialism= moral status of actions depend on their consequences (156)
Utility principle= only thing that is good in itself is a specific type of state (welfare, happiness, pleasure) (156)
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
First one to systematize utilitarianism
Accepts hedonism. He thinks 1 unit of pleasure from one source is exactly as valuable as 1 unit of pleasure from another source (“push-pin is as good as poetry”).
Bentham also accepts this view of right conduct: An action is right iff (if and only if) it increases the total amount of what is intrinsically good in the world, or decreases what is intrinsically bad.
His theory of hedonistic utilitarianism says whatever action produces the most net happiness/pleasure and the least unhappiness/pain is the morally right thing to do. He does this using his hedonic calculus.
How do we measure happiness
How do we measure happiness? (According to Bentham)
Bentham uses what he calls the hedonic calculus, pleasure or pain will be considered greater or less depending on these circumstances:
- Intensity- How intense is it?
- Duration- How long does it last?
- Certainty/ Uncertainty- How probable is it?
- Propinquity- How near or remote is it?
- Fecundity- Does it lead to further pleasure?
- Purity-How free from pain is it?
- Extent-How widely does it cover?
