1. Hedonism good = pleasant Bad = painful Claims:
We all have one, and really only one motivation, to seek pleasure and avoid pain
The only thing good is pleasure; the only thing bad is pain.
So, the right thing to do is to ALWAYS pursue solely my own pleasure. (EH); (~UH)
Two types
Egoist Hedonism – I only care about my pleasure and pain
Utilitarian Hedonism – I care equally & impartially about everyone’s pleasure and pain

2. The “Experience machine” thought experiment
Imagine that in the future, scientists and engineers develop an ‘experience machine’. People can program into the machine whatever experiences they want to undergo, and hook themselves up to this machine such that once inside, the experiences are indistinguishable from reality. Subjects can choose to live out their entire lives in the machine, experiencing whatever joys and achievements their hearts desire just like it were really happening.  Once in the machine the person is ignorant of the fact that they are really just lying in a vat or on a table having their brains manipulated according to the plan they had previously invented.

3. Would we & should we plug in?
A machine like this seems sufficient to ensure a person’s happiness, but would a life in the experience machine be a good life?  Assuming that the machine is without flaws, would you agree to be hooked up to the machine and live out your dreams? Why or why not?

4. Nozick’s claim that we should not & would not plug in
We don’t want just pleasure. We value accomplishment, struggle, complexity, achievement; in short, we value reality. The Anti-Hedonism argument P1: If Hedonism were true, then a situation where we have nothing but pleasant experiences should be wonderful P2: Such a situation would not be wonderful; it would boring meaningless, and empty C: So, Hedonism is false.

5. Higher vs Lower pleasures
Higher pleasures engage the mind
Things like friendship, art appreciation, music
Lower pleasures engage the body
- sex, food, comfort …

6. Epicureanism Epicurus (341-271 BCE)
A life devoted to worldly happiness based on materialist account of nature.
Encouraged withdrawal from political life into communities of like-minded individuals (Gardens in Athens)
Rational humanism, influence on Romans, revived in 16th/17th century with rise of science and renaissance humanism.

7. Epicureanism Materialism (Atomism) Ethics
All things are atoms & void; shape & size
Atoms are eternal (nothing from nothing), universe is boundless
Ethics
Aim: eudaimonia = happiness is a mind free from disturbance (ataraxia) and a body free from pain.
Means: fear and ignorance cause disturbances in mind and body, so ataraxia achievable by understanding the true nature of things; removal of source of fear and disturbance.

8. What causes fear? The gods
Fear punishment and arbitrary interference
a type of superstitious belief…
But, gods are immortal and blessed,
Not celestial bodies aiming to pass judgment;
Not vengeful;
Only concerned with their own domain, not humans.
So, no need to fear gods

9. What causes fear? Death Fear the pain and misery of life after death.
Either the punishment or dreary ‘life’ of death
But, death is nothing but cessation of life.
Atomism (death is separation of body and soul; only through body is sensation possible; dissolution of material components, including soul.
So, in life there is no death; in death there is no life to be concerned with.