Analysis Of The Argument From False Happiness

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The theory of hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable, thus making it so that our lives are only truly good to the extent that we are happy. The Argument from False Happiness challenges the view of the hedonist: the hedonist believes that a life is good so long as there is happiness, regardless of where the happiness comes from, whereas critics of hedonism argue that a life filled with false beliefs is worse, despite the fact that the person may still be as equally happy as someone with true beliefs. In this essay, I will show how hedonism is drastically discredited by the following argument as it is clear to see how false happiness makes a life significantly worse for the person living it:

If hedonism …show more content…

Premise 1 introduces hedonism, which states that our lives only go well to the extent that we are happy. Hedonism is the ethical theory that pleasure and happiness should be the only aim in life - pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable, and a good life must be absent of pain. Something that is intrinsically valuable is valuable for its own sake - it does not cause or bring about anything else. When hedonists say that pleasure is the only intrinsic good, this means that pleasure obtained by any means still leads to a good life simply because it is …show more content…

The Argument from False Happiness gives good reason to accept that the idea of pleasure being the only thing that is intrinsically valuable in life is ultimately not practical and that what makes a life good is what causes the pleasure in the first place. Hedonists will argue that the cause of happiness does not matter, only that we end up being happy. This seems like a logical point of view, as no one actively wants to be unhappy. However, the hedonist’s view is flawed because it counts on a very delicate circumstance: if a person’s happiness stems from false beliefs, then they must not find out that their belief is false because that will lead to disappointment and pain, thus making their life

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