...Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory Name Institution Introduction Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism. I will also discuss the most successful theory and defend my argument by explaining how the theory avoids the objections raised against it. Similarities between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism Both the desire satisfaction theory and the hedonism theory suggest that our subjective states are the major determinants of the measure of a good life. The subjective states in this case include happiness or pleasure and our desires. Our pleasures are determined by the desire satisfaction theory while happiness is achieved through the hedonism theory. Both theories are dependent on positive values which are the sole intrinsic causes of good life. Differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism The hedonism theory is a deeply important theory of the good. According to hedonism theory, happiness or pleasure is...
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...Hedonism Vs. Desire Satisfaction Theory Living the “good life” to many that means having lots of money, nice cars and dating beautiful women. However, to philosophers it isn’t that easy, to them living the good life has to do with either the theory of hedonism or desire satisfaction. Hedonism simply means that the only intrinsic good is pleasure and the only intrinsic bad is pain. Desire satisfaction theory is the theory that life is well when our desires our filled and bad when they are not. Both hedonism and desire satisfaction theory have their strengths and weaknesses. Hedonism and desire satisfaction theory are both vague enough to have many different models of the “good life” and they both allow personal authority. Another strength is that hedonism follows common sense, as for the desire satisfaction theory, it avoids objective values therefore he values are always relative to oneself. Now it wouldn’t be philosophy if both these theories didn’t have arguments against them. Although they both sound simple and perfect they have their weaknesses. For hedonism the first argument that could be made against it is that pleasure isn’t the only good in the world. For example someone who is working out might not enjoy the pain during the workout but exercise is good for everyone. A second argument weakness would be that because hedonists don’t let bad news affect them they wouldn’t have motivation to get better because they don’t let bad news bother them. For DST one of...
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...Explain and defend your preferred theory of happiness In this paper I am going to explain and defend my preferred theories of happiness. I will defend the externalist versions, which are the externalist life satisfaction theory and the externalist desire fulfilment theory. In the first section I will describe the theories. In the second section I will argue that neither affective nor objective theories of happiness are correct. Finally in the third section I will argue that the externalist satisfaction theory is the best version of a desire-based theory of happiness. I will not mention all of the theories, but rather focus on the ones I find the most interesting. Happiness is constituted by desire-fulfilment. It is not only about single desires to be fulfilled, but also about the life-satisfaction as a whole. It is how your life is going on the whole, and how it is satisfying to you. It is not enough only to believe that your life is satisfying, but you must actually be satisfied. We set our own standards for ourselves, which leads to desires that we want to be fulfilled. I believe that Richard Nozick was right to say that a life and self that happiness is a fitting response to, is what we want. We also need to give our life that response. We must correctly believe that out desires are being fulfilled and that this will measure up to our own standards that we set for ourselves. It is not sufficient to be in a psychological state, because the externalists care about more than just...
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...Explain the difference between narrow and preference hedonism. Which is a more plausible theory of happiness? 1. Introduction (250) Happiness belongs to Hedonism. If one experience more happiness during life, his life will be better. The more happiness you experience, the better your life is. There are actually two schools of thought here, Narrow Hedonism and Preference Hedonism, each with its own definition of happiness. Narrow Hedonism deems happiness a homogeneous state of pleasure, while Preference Hedonism expands the definition to include any state of mind favored by the individual, including pain (yes, pain is happiness, for some). However, the two schools are united in their focus on mental states, which as you will see is a silly idea. Hedonism is a way of life, characterised by openness to pleasurable experience. There are many qualms about hedonism. It is rejected on moral grounds and said to be detrimental to long-term happiness. Several mechanisms for this 'paradox of hedonism' have been suggested and telling examples of pleasure seekers ending up in despair have been given. The relation between hedonism and happiness has been studied at two levels: that of the nation and the individual. At the national level average happiness is correlated with moral acceptance of pleasure and with active leisure. At the individual level it is similarly linked with hedonistic attitudes and also correlated with hedonistic behaviours such as frequent sex and use of stimulants...
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...becoming an obese American? Would it be unreasonably dangerous?” For this paper, I am going to discuss about the concerns of fast food, namely McDonalds by using three ethical theories: Hedonism, the Desire Theory, and Ethical Egoism. Hedonism: The Pleasure of the Super Size As Rabinowicz and Ronnow-Rasmussen (2005) explains, “an object is thought to be intrinsically valuable … depends on … final value if it is valuable ‘as an end’, ‘for its own sake’, rather than for the sake of something else” (p. 115). The kind of pleasure hedonists claim is always intrinsically valuable is health. If people know that they are healthy and are free of sickness or pain, they are living a good life, and a good life is a happy life. Basically, health contributes to happiness and the happier the person is, the better his/her life is going to be. According to Veenhoven (2003), “There is a longstanding discussion about the merits of this hedonism. Some praise it as natural and healthy” (p. 437). So, if one is not healthy or is feeling sick, then he/she is not happy; it is what hedonists say that misery takes away a good life. In the film, going into the seventh day of eating only McDonalds, Spurlock (2004) says, “I’ve started to have – not chest pains … I got pressure on my chest. I figure that’s probably not a good...
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...is good or moral, that which do not conform is evil or immoral) ◦The subjective norm of morality – Conscience ◦The objective norm of morality – Law (natural) •Both natural law and conscience are rooted on Eternal Law, the ultimate norm, thus, there is only one norm. Loading... Conscience •The subjective/proximate norm of morality. ◦It is proximate because it is what directly confronts an action as good or bad. •Function: to examine/investigate, to judge, to pass punishment on our moral actions. ◦It approves & commends; reproaches & condemns; forbids & commands; accuses & absolves. •Synderesis – it is the quality by which man naturally perceives the truth of the self-evident principles of the moral order. Conscience - definition •Derived from the Latin words “con” plus “scientia” which means “with knowledge” of what is right or wrong or “trial of oneslf” both in accusation and in defense. •It is the “inner or little voice of God in man” crying out man’s moral obligations and telling him what to do and what to avoid in the moral order. •It is an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be performed or as evil and to be avoided. Loading... Conscience - Kinds •Antecedent – judgment is passed before an action is performed. Consequent – judgment is passed after an action is performed. •Right/True – judges what is really good as good ...
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...Chapter 1: Introduction to Employee Motivation 1.1. Introduction An issue which usually generates a great deal of attention from most managers, administrators and those involved in Human Resources Management is the issue of how to successfully motivate employee. While it is true that aspects like staff recruitment, controlling, managing, leading, and many more are of great importance to the success of an organization, Employee Motivation is generally considered a core element in running a successful business. 1.2. Statement of the Problem This paper attempts to discover the most important theories and approaches behind employee motivation, present different types of motivation, discuss their importance and provide recommendations and solutions to solving problems of de-motivated or unmotivated employees. 1.3. The Nature and Importance of Motivation Managers and scholars alike have long been inspired in attempting to find out why some employees tend to work harder than others. The study of motivation helps managers understand this variance in performance. Furthermore, knowledge of what motivates people allows managers to take ‘constructive steps’ to improve their employees’ work performance[1]. Before understanding the different types of motivation, we need to examine closely the nature of motivation. The term motivation derives from the Latin word movere, meaning, ‘to move’. This means that no one can understand a person’s motivation until that person ‘behaves or literally...
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...University of Phoenix Material Terms and Definitions Worksheet Write brief descriptions for each of the terms below. If you use an outside source to define them, include the citation for the source. Scientific method | The scientific method is a process that is used to answer questions and solve problems. Although there are different variations of the scientific method, it contains 5 basic steps. (1) Recognize a question or an unexplained occurrence in the natural world. Once this question has been developed examine scientific literature to determine what is already known about the subject matter. (2) Develop a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess that will serve as a possible solution to the problem that is define in step (1). A good hypothesis is can be tested to either be approved or disapproved. The evidence that is presented that is factual is used to develop other alternative hypothesis which are also then tested and proved to be factual or disapproved. (3) Create and preform and experiment to test the hypothesis that was developed in step (2). This is done by collecting data through observation and careful measurements. This step never proves anything, instead is disproves each alternative hypothesis until only a reasonable hypothesis is left. (4) Analyze and interpret data to reach a conclusion. This step is used to determine if the evidence supports the hypothesis or to determine if any of the hypothesis need to be altered or rejected on the basis of observed...
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...or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal.[2] Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness." Moral philosophy includes moral ontology, or the origin of morals, as well as moral epistemology, or knowledge about morals. Different systems of expressing morality have been proposed, including deontological ethical systems which adhere to a set of established rules, and normative ethical systems which consider the merits of actions themselves. An example of normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule, which states that: "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."[3] Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e. opposition to that which is good or right), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles. An initial naïve attempt at a descriptive definition of “morality” might take it to refer to the most important code of conduct put forward by a society and accepted by the members of that society. But the existence of large and heterogeneous societies raises conceptual problems for such a descriptive definition, since there may not be any such society-wide code that is regarded as most important. As a result, a definition might be offered in which “morality” refers to the most important code of conduct put forward and accepted by any group, or even by an individual. Apart from containing some...
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...person's emotions or desires cause them to do something, then that action cannot give them moral worth. 3. 4. One works so that one can buy those things that will make you happy. Work is the price we have to pay in other to get both the necessities of life and the many other things that make life enjoyable and pleasurable. 5. Finding the work as means of achieving happiness which is Autonomy. 6. Work is primary activity through which people develop their full potential as human beings. The character traits developed and the end achieved through work are connected to living a fulfilled and meaningful human life. 7. Diligence, perseverance, and concentration are character traits, that contribute to the improvement of the human well being virtue ethics. 8. People choose to work for many reasons and may willingly accept undesirable jobs simply as a means to earn money. How work affects a workers ability to make free and autonomous decisions about their own life. 9. Liberal approaches to work such as Bowie’s Kantian theory reject this view as too impoverished an understanding of human freedom individuals may well choose to work tedious difficulty depressing low paying even dangerous jobs. But if there are few alternatives available we should honor this as a free choice. Respecting the autonomy of individuals, failing to recognize such jobs as unjust. 10. Value as the means for attaining an income and through that income, many other ends that we need and desire. One will work in...
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...| | December 11, 2013 | This research paper focuses on the relationship between money, attitude, and unethical behavior. Comparing the data found in regards to gender and major according to a study by Dr. Chen and Dr. Tang. | Introduction Many believe that the success of a business is determined by they amount of money they generate on an annual basis. Because of this widespread belief, we often see a lack of morals, values, and ethics incorporated into the business. Many businesses feel as if there is no room for ethics in the business world and that the relationships built should focus solely on the generation of revenue. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, we can define ethics as, “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.” Every company has a code of ethics in order to determine the company’s culture and values. It also acts a driving force behind any decisions made by top executives. In market where there are so many profit-based businesses, often times we see the many difficulties in balancing the pursuit of profits while staying true to their code of ethics. The balance of ethical practice and profit maximization causes companies to face difficult decisions and many times businesses choose profit maximization. Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer transactions require frequent interaction. In every type of business transaction, whether it is B2B or B2C, there is going to be different motivation behind...
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...2007 © 2001 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Schwartz, Bardi / CROSS-CULTURAL VALUE SIMILARITIES Beyond the striking differences in the value priorities of groups is a surprisingly widespread consensus regarding the hierarchical order of values. Average value hierarchies of representative and near representative samples from 13 nations exhibit a similar pattern that replicates with school teachers in 56 nations and college students in 54 nations. Benevolence, self-direction, and universalism values are consistently most important; power, tradition, and stimulation values are least important; and security, conformity, achievement, and hedonism are in between. Value hierarchies of 83% of samples correlate at least .80 with this...
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...military I am required to be deploy to various sub bases within and without the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Thus, my interview took place on Walderick Wells, a Cay located in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. I had known Ms. Roker, little under two weeks and was intrigue as to why she choose the Bahamas to work instead of America. Every morning she would open the park office and we would start a casual conservation. Her views on life were astounding and to see how her dog Grace interacts with her is just amazing. She always seemed very happy whenever I saw her and always was giving. When I think of what happiness looks like I always think of her. My second choice is Mr. D Bonaby. He is between the ages of 40-50 years and is an active member in the military. He has been deployed to the same sub base as me and he has been my superior for the past 10 years. He is a welder in the military and hopes to open his welding business when he retires from the military. This is the first time we are working hand in hand and he seems content with what he has accomplish in life. He always has a humorous side which never takes a break. Listening to him speak and reflect on the military of yester years brings such happiness to me as it has developed over the years. He is adamant in the development of his subordinates by giving them advice to enhance...
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...Utility means satisfaction which consumers derive from commodities and services by purchasing different units of money.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Ineconomics, utility is a measure of satisfaction;it refers to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service. “Given this measure, one may speak meaningfully of increasing or decreasing utility, and thereby explain economic behavior in terms of attempts to increase one's utility. Utility is often affected by consumption of various goods and services, possession of wealth and spending of leisure time. According to Utilitarian’s, such as Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), theory “Society should aim to maximize the total utility of individuals, aiming for "the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people". Another theory forwarded by John Rawls (1921–2002) would have society maximize the utility of those with the lowest utility, raising them up to create a more equitable distribution across society. Utility is usually applied by economists in such constructs as the indifference curve, which plot the combination of commodities that an individual or a society would accept to maintain at given level of satisfaction. Individual utility and social utility can be construed as the value of a utility function and a social welfare function respectively. When coupled with production or commodity constraints, under some assumptions, these functions can be used to analyze...
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...difficulty. After all, is it not obvious what is happening when we make ethical decisions? Do we not do so almost every day of our lives in fact? It is one thing to engage in an activity, but often quite another to state what exactly is going on when we do it. For example, someone may have a tremendous gift for selling goods to people, but may not necessarily be aware, until he or she is taught, exactly what is going on when a successful marketing strategy is put into operation. One can instinctively put into operation the classical ‘three Ps’ of marketing (attention to Product, Price and Packaging), but yet be unaware, until this is pointed out, that these are the key features of selling. In a similar way, we can make moral judgments, but yet find some difficulty in explaining exactly what is taken place when we do so. In the case of ethical judgments, the situation is perhaps more difficult. If I state that a product is — say — red, we have little difficulty in understanding and explaining what is meant. Red is a colour, and is a physical property which can be seen with the eyes. Ethical judgments seem to be different. If we describe something as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, we do not seem to be talking about a property we experience with our...
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