Narrow versus preference hedonism as theories of happiness

Philosophy

Narrow and Preference Hedonism

Narrow Hedonism vs. Preference Hedonism

Faculty Name

Life is a simple four letter word, but it is not as simple as it sounds. Life is complex and to understand life as it is, it is important to understand how the human mind works. Life cannot be defined, it is not objective; it is rather subjective. It differs from person to person because human mind of every person works in a different way. The concept of hedonism define a certain part of life i.e. pleasure, happiness and joy. There are different types of hedonism which are applicable to different people according to their mind's acceptance.

Hedonism

Instead of giving a dictionary-definition for the word hedonism, it is important to understand hedonism and its application to our lives. Hedonism is a way of living but the main focus of hedonism is on pleasure, joy and happiness. Every one lives their life in a different way i.e. according to their lifestyle, brought up, culture and environment. Therefore the definition of a successful life and a better life differs for every person. Regardless of the difference in the definition, there is one identical point in all the definitions, happiness. People want happiness in order to define their lives as successful, better or worth living. What differs is actually the definition of happiness (Veenhoven, 2003).

Happiness is something that gives us pleasure but some people also take pleasure in pain, does that mean they are happy? This question leads us to two different schools of thought, narrow hedonism and preference hedonism. Before moving on to the discussion of narrow and preference hedonism it is important to define happiness in different ways it can be taken.

Happiness in Pain: Some people find pleasure in pain and some define pain as pleasure. Pain is relative, for some people pain is a tingling feeling that sends tickles down their spine and they enjoy it, which is where the concept of happiness in pain comes. On the other side some people are distressed by pain. There is a certain limit of pain that every person can undertake beyond that limit pain becomes unpleasant. For some people the limit is too little while for others it is just the opposite.

Happiness in Achievements and Success: Most of us find happiness in our achievements and personal and professional success. Personal success refers to when a person has successful relationships and is mentally satisfied while professional success refers to attaining success in career and professional life. The common notion is that people are the happiest when they attain a balance in their professional and personal life. There has to be a certain level of success in both the lives.

Hedonism itself is a school of thought. This school of thought actually believes that only pleasure is intrinsic. The fact that pleasure is the only feeling being referred to as intrinsic by the people belonging to this school of thought has given rise to many controversial views. If pleasure is intrinsic then it means that pleasure is the only actual feeling that one has. A school of thought that supports hedonism also believes that pleasure is the only feeling that can motivate a person intrinsically i.e. To attain pleasure people can do anything. Ever wonder why some people put their lives into danger just to experience the pleasure of sky diving and bungee jumping? Life is about attaining pleasure and that is what all hedonists believe in (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2009). But if all hedonists believe in the same thing then what's the difference between narrow hedonism and preference hedonism?

As mentioned above, hedonism itself is a school of thought. This school of thought parents two other schools of thought that are narrow hedonism and preference hedonism. Some hedonists believe in the concept of narrow hedonism while others believe in the concept of preference hedonism. What type of hedonism is more plausible, that can only be decided when we know about them in detail.

Narrow Hedonism

The simple way to define this school of thought is by dividing the feelings into two categories that are pleasure and pain. Narrow hedonists believe that pleasure and pain are two distinct feelings. Pleasure is perceived by them to be good while pain is perceived by them to be bad. Pleasure has to be acquired in order to be happy and pain has to be avoided in order to be happy (Gosling, 1969).

It wouldn't be wrong to refer the narrow hedonists as the mathematically logical people. There is a solid right answer. There is a right or wrong and there is a single definition of happiness. But this concept gets confusing. How can you logically and objectively define happiness or pleasure? Listening to rock music might be pleasure for an eighteen-year-old and it might be pain for a seventy-year-old. Feelings are relative and that is understood so how come there is a solid right or wrong answer where feelings are concerned? Also, how can pleasure be the only good? These questions, question the validity of narrow hedonism in comparison to the preference hedonism.

There is a strong connection between our feelings and our desires. We feel a certain way because our desires are fulfilled or unfulfilled. Therefore, the point that remains objective is not the feeling itself but it is rather the connection of the feeling with our desire. This connection will generate a different feeling for every person.

The term narrow hedonism is derived from the fact that the narrow hedonists draw a very narrow line between subjectivity and objectivity of hedonism. No matter what the critics say, narrow hedonism has its validating arguments.

Preference Hedonism

Preference Hedonism drives the concept of hedonism in a different direction. While narrow hedonists believe that pleasure is good and makes us happy whereas pain is bad and does not make us happy, preference hedonists believe that feelings are not objective but are rather subjective. The fact is that that good or bad varies for every person. This school of thought believes that sometimes what's pleasurable is bad and what painful is good. It is all about the connection of our feelings with our desires and the effect that our desire fulfillment has on our lives. Unlike narrow hedonists, the preference hedonists draw a clear line between the subjectivity and objectivity of feelings. It all comes to how the human mind behaves. Every person perceives things differently, what's painful to one can be pleasurable to the other. Just like what's normal for a spider will be chaos to the fly.

The basic belief that the preference hedonists have is similar to the narrow hedonist. Both schools of thought strongly believe that happiness determines whether you are living a better life or not. The difference comes where happiness has to be defined. While the former school of thought believes that happiness is objective, preference hedonists believe that happiness is a functional state of mind. For example a person might get pleasure by taking drugs and liquor etc. In one situation but in the other situation he takes pleasure by doing healthy activities such as walking, jogging and other sporting activities. It is worth noting that both these situations are very different from each other because drinking liquor or taking drugs does not involve any physical exhaustion and doesn't have a healthy impact while health activities require a lot of physical exhaustion that leads to a healthy impact (Feldman, Pleasure and the Good Life: Concerning the Nature, Varieties, and Plausibility of Hedonism, 2004).

Despite the difference between above mentioned two situations it is pertinent to mention here that the person is experiencing pleasure in both situations. This pleasure results in happiness, a feeling that all hedonists believe is needed for a better life. However preference hedonists also believe not to rely on the feeling of pleasure too much because unattainable pleasure will cause pain which is bad and will lead to an unhappy life.

It is also worth mentioning here, preference hedonists also believe that sometimes pain gives pleasure. Therefore subjectively pain is sometimes good and can lead to a better life. For example athletes go through extremely tough and painful physical trainings in order to gain a sense of achievement that makes them happy. As the famous saying goes "No Pain -- No Gain."

Narrow Hedonists vs. Preference Hedonists

In the comparison of narrow hedonists and preference hedonists, the question arises which school of thought is more plausible? Considering the above discussion on both schools of thought, we can interpret that preference hedonists share somewhat the same beliefs as utilitarian school of thought (Feldman, Dancy, & Sosa, Utilitarianism, Hedonism, and Desert: Essays in Moral Philosophy, 1997). If one has to choose a plausible school of thought a few factors have to be taken under consideration.

Factor One: Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

Objectivity applies to mathematics where two plus two equals four and can never be five. When it comes to feelings or consideration of good or bad, you cannot be objective. Life is a collection of feelings, and everything that gives us a good feeling will certainly give us happiness. For every person there is a different definition of happiness. Some people associate happiness with spiritual satisfaction which people achieve by practicing their religious activities. The gist of the discussion lies in the point that happiness is relative. One thing might make one person happy and the other sad. There are two sides to every slice therefore you cannot just consider one factor and declare one theory of happiness or school of thought right or wrong.

The battle of objectivity vs. subjectivity is different for every situation. For situations where objectivity is needed narrow hedonism theory of happiness will be considered more plausible as compare to the need for relativity from situation to situation and feeling to feeling will lead to the victory of preference hedonism theory of happiness.

Factor Two: Happiness

The relativity of happiness can be identified by observing the people around us. When you are observing a person who is being happy by inflicting pain upon him you will notice that pain will be resulting in something pleasurable for that person. For example, happiness is relative, even in gender. Women attain pleasure in shopping while most men feel stressed during shopping which becomes somewhat painful. The three most important things that are considered as source of happiness by the majority of people are wealth, fame, and respect.

1. Wealth - a lot of people believe that possession of money can buy happiness. People spend money to buy things that will fulfill their desires which in turn would give them happiness. However sometimes happiness is more than just a couple of dollars. This very statement in itself is objective because if we consider the principle of relativity money can be happiness for most of the people. It is important to note here that for a person the happiness related to wealth will differ from time to time. This means that a person wanting a certain amount of wealth in one year will want more in the next. The hunger for money can never be fulfilled which leads to incomplete happiness that goes back to the concept of not wanting the pleasure so much that the inability to attain it becomes painful.

2. Fame -- Fame is also an important source of happiness. You must have heard a common statement of the showbiz world, good attention or bad attention just save me from no attention. Celebrities become so obsessed with fame that they literally crave for it. For instance charm of success in a competition and applause from the crowd or audience would provide them the happiness that they strived for. Hence fame becomes their source of happiness. Some people, who fail to attain fame due to their lack of talent or skills, buy fame by their wealth such as politicians etc.

3. Respect -- Some people strive for being a respectful citizen of the society. For them knowing that the people around them respect them and value them is a strong source of happiness.

Factor Three: Satisfaction

Every person has defined satisfaction in his own terms. We cannot associate happiness or pain with satisfaction. Again, the fact remains, it is relative, and it is different for every person. Therefore, by considering only happiness or good as satisfaction will not be a right decision. Satisfaction can come by attaining anything that motivates a person. In the comparison of rich vs. poor we might believe that the rich person, having every kind of wealth as well as fame and respect in the society is more satisfied with his life as compared to the poor one. However the reality might be different, the poor person who has nothing but the basic necessities could be more satisfied than the rich person, may be because he has nothing to lose.