Psychological hedonism and ethical hedonism may be combined or separated as methods of defining the ultimate goal of moral conduct.Įthical hedonism may be divided into egoistic hedonism (including Epicureanism) and universalistic hedonism (including utilitarianism). Psychological hedonism is a theory of psychological motivation, while ethical hedonism is a theory of ethical conduct. Ethical hedonism, on the other hand, asserts that actions are good insofar as they produce pleasure or prevent pain. Psychological hedonism affirms that the motives of human action are to be found in the pursuit of pleasure or in the avoidance of pain. Psychological hedonism should be distinguished from ethical hedonism, says Sidgwick.
However, judgments about what ought to happen in a particular situation often depend upon judgments about what actually is happening in that situation, and thus ethical judgments often depend upon scientific judgments. It is also a philosophical rather than a scientific inquiry, because it is mainly concerned with what ought to be, rather than with what is. It is different from politics, because it is concerned with what is right for each individual, while politics is concerned with what is right for society. Ethics is a study of the principles that govern right action or conduct. Methods of ethics are rational procedures that enable us to determine what we should voluntarily do (or what it is right for us to do) in a particular situation. Sidgwick describes how each of these methods defines rational principles of conduct, and how they each interpret moral duty differently. For universalistic hedonism, the general happiness of all individuals is the ultimate good. For intuitionism, moral virtue or perfection is the ultimate good.
Thus, for egoistic hedonism, the private happiness of each individual is the ultimate good. Sidgwick describes how each method may provide its own definition of the ultimate goal of ethical conduct. The analysis of these methods attempts to determine the extent to which they are compatible or incompatible.
The Methods of Ethics defines three basic methods of ethics: (1) egoistic hedonism, (2) intuitionism, and (3) universalistic hedonism. His writings included The Methods of Ethics (1874) and Principles of Political Economy (1883). Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) was an English philosopher who taught at Trinity College, Cambridge from 1859-1900.
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