He developed a thought experiment called the experience machine. The philosopher Robert Nozick wanted people to feel the pinch of measuring life only based on pain and pleasure. That’s where people tend to be more hesitant. What makes hedonism unique is the claim only pleasure and pain matter. That’s not enough to make you a hedonist. Most people will agree pleasure and pain are important for determining the value of something. (With evidence to suggest pigs can orgasm for up to fifteen minutes, Mill’s account feels a little incomplete). “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”, he said. Although sensory pleasures might be the most intense, it was fitting for higher order beings – like humans – to enjoy higher order pleasures – like art. John Stuart Mill believed in a hierarchy of pleasures. Best not to love them to begin with, he suggests. If we live a rich, complex lifestyle we risk suffering more when it ends. Though his name has become synonymous with indulgence – “Epicurean holidays”, a food app called “Epicurious” – he advocated finding pleasure in a simple life with a bland diet. For Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher, pleasure was the absence of pain. There are different perspectives on what pleasure and pain really mean. Where utilitarianism says ethical actions are ones that maximise the overall good of a society, hedonism takes it a step further by defining ‘good’ as pleasure. Hedonism is closely associated with utilitarianism.

Hedonism is a philosophy that regards pleasure and happiness as the most beneficial outcome of an action.

What is hedonism