Hedonism and Theories of Well-Being (Lecture Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture on hedonism, well-being theories, argument structure, and the experience machine thought experiment.

Hedonism

A theory of well-being that posits pleasure as the intrinsic good and pain as the intrinsic bad; overall well-being is the balance of pleasure over pain.

Prudential good (prudential value)

What is good for a person in their own life, independent of moral duties or others' interests.

Intrinsic good

Good in itself; valuable for its own sake, not as a means to something else.

Instrumental good

Good as a means to achieve other ends; not valuable for its own sake.

Welfare subject

A being capable of experiencing well-being (pleasure and pain); may include humans and some animals, but not inanimate objects.

Attitudinal hedonism

Pleasure is the attitude one has toward something, not necessarily the sensation itself.

Qualitative hedonism

The idea that pleasures come in different qualities; some pleasures are higher than others.

Correlation argument

An argument that links hedonic value with well-being by showing a correlation, though it does not establish causation.

Motivation argument

An argument that what motivates action is guided by the pursuit of pleasure or avoidance of pain, suggesting pleasure is intrinsically valuable.

Experience machine

A thought experiment in which one could live a life of pleasurable experiences produced by a machine; challenges authentic achievement and agency.

Agency

The capacity to act with intentional control and to make real choices; central to evaluating well-being.

Paradigmatic cases

Common, representative examples used to illustrate what constitutes a good life or well-being.

Valid argument

An argument form where, if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.

Modus ponens (Affirming the Antecedent)

If P then Q; P; therefore Q — a valid form of argument.

Modus tollens (Denying the Consequent)

If P then Q; Not Q; therefore Not P — a valid form of argument.

Sound argument

A valid argument with true premises.

Conditional argument

A form of argument that asserts that if P, then Q; can be used in valid forms like affirming the antecedent or denying the consequent.

Causation vs correlation

Correlation between two variables does not prove causation; a third variable may cause both.