A "Brave New World"-perspective analysis on the subject of Hedonism.
Imagine Brenda, a woman who will not under any circumstances trade her life in order to be conditioned, and then live as a Beta in the Brave New World (BNW), universe. If this is the case, then Brenda could not consistently accept Hedonism. This is due to the definition of Hedonism, the amount and intensity of bodily pleasure in Brave New World (BNW), and the amount and intensity of bodily pleasure here in real life.
The definition of Hedonism leads one to maximize the amount of pleasure and minimize the amount of pain: The only thing intrinsically good in life is pleasure, and the only thing intrinsically bad in life is pain. Other things in life have extrinsic value - they can lead to either pain or pleasure, but do not produce the sensations by themselves. However, Hedonists are only concerned with pleasure and pain, as these are the only intrinsic values. The distinctive factor that determines a better life from a worse one, is the amount of net pleasure in one's life. The net pleasure is determined by subtracting the amount of pain in one's life from the amount of pleasure. Notice that Hedonism only determines better lives from worse ones, not good from bad. To make the distinction between good and bad is an arbitrary decision and cannot be measured through a comparable medium such as net pleasure. Quantitative Hedonism states that quantity and intensity are the only criteria that determine just how good a certain pleasure is.
If all pleasures differ only in quantity and duration, then the world in BNW is a dream for hedonists. One's life in BNW is conditioned to be content and happy with one's, job, class in life, and the daily schedule of life. This schedule for one's life never changes and so delivers a maximum amount of pleasure due to being happy and content. High pleasure in BNW also comes from the open sexual relations between people. Basically, it is encouraged from childhood to have as many sex partners as possible, therefore maximizing the amount
The definition of Hedonism leads one to maximize the amount of pleasure and minimize the amount of pain: The only thing intrinsically good in life is pleasure, and the only thing intrinsically bad in life is pain. Other things in life have extrinsic value - they can lead to either pain or pleasure, but do not produce the sensations by themselves. However, Hedonists are only concerned with pleasure and pain, as these are the only intrinsic values. The distinctive factor that determines a better life from a worse one, is the amount of net pleasure in one's life. The net pleasure is determined by subtracting the amount of pain in one's life from the amount of pleasure. Notice that Hedonism only determines better lives from worse ones, not good from bad. To make the distinction between good and bad is an arbitrary decision and cannot be measured through a comparable medium such as net pleasure. Quantitative Hedonism states that quantity and intensity are the only criteria that determine just how good a certain pleasure is.
If all pleasures differ only in quantity and duration, then the world in BNW is a dream for hedonists. One's life in BNW is conditioned to be content and happy with one's, job, class in life, and the daily schedule of life. This schedule for one's life never changes and so delivers a maximum amount of pleasure due to being happy and content. High pleasure in BNW also comes from the open sexual relations between people. Basically, it is encouraged from childhood to have as many sex partners as possible, therefore maximizing the amount