the good life

instrumental goods:

things that are valuable because of the good things they bring about

intrinsically valuable:

worth pursuing for its own sake: valuable in its own right

hedonism

the view that a life is good to the extent that it is filled with pleasure and is free from pain

the argument from evil pleasures

1: if hedonism is true, then happiness that comes from evil deeds is as good as happiness that comes from kind and decent actions

2: happiness that comes from evil deeds is not as good as happiness that comes from kind and decent actions

3: therefore, hedonism is false

the argument from false happiness

1: if hedonism is true then out lives go well to the extent that we are happy

2: its not the case that our lives go well to the extent that we are happy, those whose happiness is based on false beliefs have worse lives than those whose happiness is based on true beliefs, even if both lives are equally happy

3: therefore, hedonism is false

desire satisfaction theory:

tells us that your life goes well for you to the extent that you get what you want

autonomy

the power to guide our life through our own free choices