...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...
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...Hedonism, Desire Satisfaction, and a Good Life So, would you like to have a good life? I wouldn't. Well, actually I would in a sense. After all, for something to be 'good' is to be 'such as to fulfill the desires in question'. The desires in question, in this case, are my desires. To say that I do not desire a good life is to say that I do not desire a life that has those properties that I desire. However, a good life is not the only thing I want. I want a great many of things. I would like to have a good steak. A good steak is a steak is a steak that has those qualities that I desire in a steak regarding taste and size. However, I want a great many things and often find that i give up other things I would give up a good steak - I would give up the best possible steak - to fulfill sme of those other desires. I would be willing to give up a good life in exchange for some of the things that I value. That is, unless we define "a good life" to include everything that I value. In that case, giving up a good life would be impossible. What would I give it up for? It would have to be something I value more than life, but 'life' has been defined in a way that embraces all desires. We have the same problem with steaks by the way. The best of all possible steaks would be a steak that fulfilled the most possible of my desires. It would fulfill my desires with respect to taste, while leaving unthwarted my desires with respect to gaining weight. However, it would also fulfill...
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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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... as well as other countries’ cultures. As Spurlock (2004) said in the film “what would happen if I ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days straight? Would I suddenly be on the fast track to 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...
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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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...Norms of Morality Prof. Fernandino J. Pancho Definition •Norms of morality ◦is the criteria of judgment about the sorts of person we ought to be and the sorts of action we ought to perform. ◦the quality of things manifesting their conformity or non-coformity with the norm or criteria. (that which conforms 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...
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...htm BUS 309 WK 3 Quiz 2 Chapter 2 - All Possible Questions 1. Which theories of ethics contend that right and wrong are determined by more than the likely consequences of an action? 1. Egoistic theories 2. Nonconsequentialist theories 3. Relativist theories 4. Consequentialist theories 1. Nonconsequentialist theories are also called 1. Deontological theories 2. Relativist theories 3. Egoistic theories 4. Virtue ethics theories 1. Epicurus was a 1. Stoic 2. Hedonist 3. Platonist 4. Aristotelian 1. Someone who holds that everyone should let self-interest guide their actions is a 1. Personal egoist 2. Personal hedonist 3. Impersonal egoist 4. Impersonal hedonist 1. The view that equates morality with self-interest is 1. Stoicism 2. Egoism 3. Hedonism 4. Platonism 1. Psychological hedonists hold that humans are by nature 1. Virtuous 2. Selfish 3. Altruistic 4. Immoral 1. The view that we should always act so as to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions is known as 1. Virtue ethics 2. Divine command ethics 3. Deontology 4. Utilitarianism 1. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill both endorsed 1. Virtue ethics 2. Divine command ethics 3. Deontology 4. Utilitarianism 1. By “good” utilitarians mean 1. Happiness or pleasure 2. Morality or virtue 3. Wealth or prosperity 4. Desire satisfaction 1. The “hedonic calculus” was developed by 1. Epicurus 2. Mill 3. Bentham ...
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...Terms and Definitions Worksheet SCI/362 – Environmental Issues and Ethics University of Phoenix 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...
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...htm BUS 309 WK 3 Quiz 2 Chapter 2 - All Possible Questions 1. Which theories of ethics contend that right and wrong are determined by more than the likely consequences of an action? 1. Egoistic theories 2. Nonconsequentialist theories 3. Relativist theories 4. Consequentialist theories 1. Nonconsequentialist theories are also called 1. Deontological theories 2. Relativist theories 3. Egoistic theories 4. Virtue ethics theories 1. Epicurus was a 1. Stoic 2. Hedonist 3. Platonist 4. Aristotelian 1. Someone who holds that everyone should let self-interest guide their actions is a 1. Personal egoist 2. Personal hedonist 3. Impersonal egoist 4. Impersonal hedonist 1. The view that equates morality with self-interest is 1. Stoicism 2. Egoism 3. Hedonism 4. Platonism 1. Psychological hedonists hold that humans are by nature 1. Virtuous 2. Selfish 3. Altruistic 4. Immoral 1. The view that we should always act so as to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions is known as 1. Virtue ethics 2. Divine command ethics 3. Deontology 4. Utilitarianism 1. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill both endorsed 1. Virtue ethics 2. Divine command ethics 3. Deontology 4. Utilitarianism 1. By “good” utilitarians mean 1. Happiness or pleasure 2. Morality or virtue 3. Wealth or prosperity 4. Desire satisfaction 1. The “hedonic calculus” was developed by 1. Epicurus 2. Mill 3. Bentham ...
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...action is the desire to experience pleasure or avoid pain. I will begin by contrasting psychological egoism with ethical egoism. I will then discuss arguments that support psychological egoism, and refute those arguments using Rachels’ and Feinberg’s view’s against the theory. I will conclude by arguing that psychological egoism is implausible as it is incapable of being falsified, and fails to distinguish critical terms proposed in the theory. I will begin by defining psychological egoism. Psychological egoism is the view that people always act according to their self-interest. According to this view, our only intrinsic desires are desires for the advancement of our own self-interest. But we can still have instrumental desires for other things. Instrumental desires are desires that you have only because you believe that satisfying that desire will help you satisfy some other desire. For example, I may desire to write this paper only because I believe that by writing this paper I will get a good grade, and I desire to get a good grade; I don’t intrinsically desire to write this paper. Now that I have defined psychological egoism, I will contrast the theory with ethical egoism. Psychological egoism and ethical egoism differ in that psychological egoism is a descriptive view of human motivation stating that humans act to fulfill their wants and desires. For example, if Bob wanted to eat a hamburger, an explanation for this action would be that he had the desire to do so, and...
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...Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behavior") is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper.[1] Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from acode of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, 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...
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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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...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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...| Money, Attitude, and Unethical Behavior | Business Research Methods | | | 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...
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