Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Evaluative hedonism is inconsistent with psychological he... — Carmelics
    Home/Consequentialism
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Evaluative hedonism is inconsistent with psychological hedonism.

    Consequentialism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Psychological hedonism, as formulated by Bentham, holds that individuals are governed solely by the pursuit of their own pleasure.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Evaluative hedonism, also in Bentham, demands impartial maximization of aggregate pleasure across all persons.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.An agent constitutionally bound to pursue only personal pleasure cannot be genuinely motivated to sacrifice it for strangers' greater pleasure.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Sidgwick argued that the 'dualism of practical reason' reveals that self-interest and universal benevolence issue irreconcilable rational demands.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If psychological hedonism is true, the motivational structure of rational agency is egoistic and cannot be overridden by impartial evaluative demands.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Therefore, evaluative hedonism's impartial standard presupposes a motivational capacity that psychological hedonism systematically excludes.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Evaluative hedonism requires that agents aim to maximize a sum of pleasures.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Psychological hedonism holds that pleasurable experience is the ultimate object of desire.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.A sum of pleasures is not itself a pleasure.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    Consequentialism

    Connections

    3 topics

    Consciousness & Mind1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linkedMoral Responsibility1 linked

    Related

    A sum of pleasures is not itself a pleasure.An agent constitutionally bound to pursue only personal pleasure cannot be genui...Evaluative hedonism requires that agents aim to maximize a sum of pleasures.Evaluative hedonism, also in Bentham, demands impartial maximization of aggregat...
    +6 moreShow less
    If psychological hedonism is true, the motivational structure of rational agency...Psychological hedonism holds that pleasurable experience is the ultimate object ...Psychological hedonism, as formulated by Bentham, holds that individuals are gov...

    Similar

    Sidgwick holds evaluative hedonism but explicitly rejects psychologica...89%Therefore, psychological hedonism cannot motivate agents to act on the...86%Bentham's hedonism can accommodate intuitions about higher and lower p...83%Green's inconsistency argument targets someone who combines both evalu...83%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: green
    View source passageHide passage
    Green not only criticizes the evaluative hedonism he finds in Mill; he also rejects evaluative hedonism outright. One argument he makes is that evaluative hedonism is actually inconsistent with psychological hedonism. Evaluative hedonism says that our ultimate aim ought to be to maximize net pleasure or to seek the largest sum of pleasures, whereas psychological hedonism claims that pleasurable experience is the ultimate object of desire. But a sum of pleasures is not itself a pleasure, and so,
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Sidgwick argued that the 'dualism of practical reason' reveals that self-interes...
    Therefore, evaluative hedonism's impartial standard presupposes a motivational c...
    Therefore, psychological hedonism cannot motivate agents to act on the requireme...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit