Defining Pleasure for Hedonism: Lessons from Science

1. Defining Pleasure for Hedonism:Lessons from Science Dan Turton Victoria University of Wellington

2. Plan • Theory • Classical/Quantitative/Value/Default/ Benthamite/Old Skool Hedonism • Felt-Quality, Hedonic Tone theory of pleasure • Problem • The heterogeneity problem • Solution • Pleasure feels good • Scientific support for hedonic tone theories

3. Classical Hedonism about Well-Being • Well-being • Pleasure is the only bearer of intrinsic value in a life • Opposite for pain • Pleasure and pain are sensations – they have a felt quality • NOT ‘folk hedonism’

4. Felt-Quality Theories of Pleasure • Distinctive Feeling theories • Hedonic Tone theories • Every feeling/sensation has a valence • Positive, neutral or negative • Which affects well-being correspondingly • Improves, doesn’t change or worsens • Note: the hedonic tone is felt/experienced

5. The Heterogeneity Problem • Henry Sidgwick (1907): • There is no common ‘felt’ feature in diverse pleasurable experiences • E.g. sex vs. schadenfraude • So, Felt-Quality theories were largely abandoned • The value was taken out of the sensation • Attitudinal pleasures • Motivational theories of pleasure • Preference-satisfaction accounts

6. The Kind of Solution Required • Unify pleasure’s diversity • Is useful for Hedonism • Is obviously good in itself • Is compatible with folk concept of pleasure • Is compatible with best science • Is useful for Hedonistic Utilitarianism • Is theoretically measurable and inter-personally comparable

7. Motivational Theories of Pleasure – (MTP) • Sidgwick, Brandt, Alston, Carson • Heathwood: • A sensation is a sensory pleasure iff it is contemporaneously desired for its own sake • But, not everything that is desired is a sensory pleasure • Two problems 1) How do we distinguish between pleasures and non-pleasures? 2) No role for pleasure in explaining motivation!?!

8. Feldman’s Attitudinal Pleasure • Sensory pleasure = feeling “mmmmmm”/good • Intrinsically worthless • Attitudinal pleasure = being pleased about something/enjoying it • The only thing of intrinsic value • E.g. the happy accident victim

9. Assessing Attitudinal Pleasure • Unifies pleasure’s diversity • Is useful for Hedonism • Is compatible with folk concept of pleasure • Is compatible with best science • Is useful for Hedonistic Utilitarianism ? ? ? ?

10. Recent Findings in Science 1 • “Pleasure is never merely a sensation” • Berridge & Kringelbach 2008, p459 • Reward = wanting liking & learning • Wanting and liking are dissociable • Wanting by itself seems a-pleasurable • Liking by itself seems pleasurable

11. Behavioural Liking & Disliking

12. Causing Ratty Pleasure (‘Liking’)

13. Recent Findings in Science 2 • The ‘liking’ circuitry uses opioids, cannabinoids & benzodiazepines • The brain mechanisms for fundamental pleasures are probably the same for higher pleasures • All experiences are coded with hedonic gloss • Sometimes we become aware of this

14. From Sensation to Subjective Pleasure Sensory input Sense organs Primary sensory cortices: Cortical represen-tations created Posterior OFC: Multi-modal integration Lateral anterior OFC: Influences behaviour Anterior OFC: Reward value assigned ?????????????: Conscious experience of pleasure Mid-anterior OFC: Made available for subjective hedonic experience Medial anterior OFC: Stored for learning

15. My Solution • A Hedonic Tone theory • A scientifically grounded version of The Feels Good Theory of pleasure • Pleasure (enjoyment) = Being aware of +ve hedonic gloss • Pain (suffering) = Being aware of -ve hedonic gloss • Being aware • Hedons • Duration • Felt Intensity (awareness * intensity)

16. Assessing My Simple Pleasure • Unifies pleasure’s diversity • Is useful for Hedonism • Is compatible with folk concept of pleasure • Is compatible with best science • Is useful for Hedonistic Utilitarianism

17. Recap • The Problem • Feldman’s solution: • Attitudinal pleasure • My solution • A Hedonic Tone theory • Pleasure (enjoyment) = Being aware of positive hedonic gloss • Pain (suffering) = Being aware of negative hedonic gloss