Editing Hedonism (section)

=== Psychological hedonism ===
[[File:Thomas Hobbes (portrait).jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Thomas Hobbes|[[Thomas Hobbes]] was a key advocate of psychological hedonism.<ref name="auto3">{{multiref | {{harvnb|Blakemore|Jennett|2001|loc=§ Pleasure and the Enlightenment}} | {{harvnb|Schmitter|2021|loc=§ 3. The Classification of the Passions}} | {{harvnb|Abizadeh|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZahxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 146]}} }}</ref>]]

Psychological or motivational hedonism is the view that all human actions aim at increasing pleasure and avoiding [[pain]]. It is an empirical view about what motivates people, both on the conscious and the unconscious levels.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Weijers|loc=§ 1c. Motivational Hedonism}} | {{harvnb|Buscicchi|loc=§ 2. Paradoxes of Hedonism}} | {{harvnb|Bruton|2024}} | {{harvnb|Tilley|2012|loc=§ IV. Psychological Hedonism}} }}</ref> Psychological hedonism is usually understood as a form of [[egoism]], meaning that people strive to increase their own happiness. This implies that a person is only motivated to help others if it is in their [[self-interest|own interest]] because they expect a personal benefit from it.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bruton|2024}} | {{harvnb|Gosling|2001|p=1326}} | {{harvnb|Tilley|2012|loc=§ IV. Psychological Hedonism}} }}</ref> As a theory of human motivation, psychological hedonism does not imply that all behavior leads to pleasure. For example, if a person holds mistaken beliefs or lacks necessary skills, they may attempt to produce pleasure but fail to attain the intended outcome.<ref>{{harvnb|Bruton|2024}}</ref>

The standard form of psychological hedonism asserts that the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain are the only sources of all motivation. Some psychological hedonists propose weaker formulations, suggesting that considerations of pleasure and pain influence most actions to some extent or limiting their role to certain conditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Weijers|loc=§ 1c. Motivational Hedonism}}</ref> For example, reflective or rationalizing hedonism says that human motivation is only driven by pleasure and pain when people actively reflect on the overall consequences.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gosling|1998|loc=§ 2. Psychological, Evaluative and Reflective Hedonism}} | {{harvnb|Gosling|2001|p=1326}} | {{harvnb|Gosling|2005|pp=363–364}} }}</ref> Another version is genetic hedonism, which accepts that people desire various things besides pleasure but asserts that each desire has its origin in a desire for pleasure.<ref>{{harvnb|Tilley|2012|loc=§ IV. Psychological Hedonism}}</ref> [[Darwinian hedonism]] explains the pleasure-seeking tendency from an evolutionary perspective, arguing that hedonic impulses evolved as adaptive strategies to promote survival and reproductive success.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Williams|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S1uHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1–4]}} |{{harvnb|Freeland|2020|p=788}} }}</ref>

Proponents of psychological hedonism often highlight its intuitive appeal and explanatory power, arguing that many desires directly focus on pleasure while the others have an indirect focus by aiming at the means to bring about pleasure.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Heathwood|2013|loc=§ Why Think Hedonism Is True?}} | {{harvnb|Moore|2019|loc=§ 1.1 Arguments For Psychological Hedonism}} }}</ref> Critics of psychological hedonism often cite apparent counterexamples in which people act for reasons other than their personal pleasure. Proposed examples include acts of genuine [[altruism]], such as a soldier sacrificing themselves on the battlefield to save their comrades or a parent wanting their children to be happy. Critics also mention non-altruistic cases, like a desire for [[posthumous fame]]. It is an open question to what extent these cases can be explained as types of pleasure-seeking behavior.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gosling|2001|p=1326}} | {{harvnb|Gosling|1998|loc=§ 2. Psychological, Evaluative and Reflective Hedonism}} | {{harvnb|Bruton|2024}} | {{harvnb|Heathwood|2013|loc=§ Why Think Hedonism Is True?}} }}</ref>