72-78

• Jortner, Brian

In his 1974 book entitled "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" Nozick devises a thought experiment that is intended to disprove the ethical philosophy of welfare hedonism. Welfare hedonism is the belief that the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain are the only factors that contribute to a person's well-being. Nozick concludes that welfare hedonism is false because this philosophy would endorse a specific hypothetical behavior that a large number of people would not endorse. Although he does not state it explicitly, Nozick's case against welfare hedonism relies upon the premise that people necessarily desire the state of affairs that contributes most to their well-being. I will show that this premise is problematic for a number of reasons, rendering Nozick's case against welfare hedonism unsuccessful. I concede that Nozick is successful in demonstrating that welfare hedonism is a philosophy that would endorse a specific behavior that many people would not endorse, however, I conclude that this fact does not necessarily imply the objective "falsity" of welfare hedonism

• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Φιλοσοφία

Welfare, Hedonism, Experience, Machine, Robert, Nozick, Pleasure, Desire, Satisfaction

1. Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic, 1974. Print