Mill and Epicurus’ versions of hedonism

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what is hedonism? Explain both Mill and Epicurus’ versions of hedonism. Then, explain either the society described in Brave New World or Nozick’s experience machine. Which version of hedonism does this scenario pose a problem for, and why? What could the hedonist that it is a problem for say in response?

Sample Solution

The word ‘hedonism’ originates from the ancient Greek for ‘pleasure’.  According to Psychological or motivational hedonism,only pleasure or pain motivates us. Ethical or evaluative hedonism claims that only pleasure has worth or value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or the opposite of worth. Jeremy Bentham asserted both psychological and ethical hedonism with the first two sentences of his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation: “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain, and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do”.

himself is the boon, because without the Dragon Scroll he cannot become the Dragon Warrior. Campbell and Schwartz agree that the boon unbalances the world due to its alarming emptiness, and that the boon does blast Po from within and without. It is only when Po re-enters the ordinary world and not the heroic world that he discovers the true boon. It is Po’s father who grants him the key to discovering the true ultimate boon, “‘The secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup!… is nothing…To make something special, you just have to believe it’s special.’…Po stares at his reflection on the scroll…he gets it now” (Stevenson and Osborne, : ). Po’s father is the true giver of the ultimate boon. The ultimate boon is elusive because the boon isn’t the scroll itself; it’s the deeper meaning of it that the beholder must uncover. By understanding the special mundanity of the scroll, the Dragon Warrior-Po-becomes enlightened by the fact that he did not have to be “special” in order to be the greatest warrior in the valley. The ultimate boon is elusive due to its deeper, more symbolic meaning. The elusive boon manipulates Campbell’s paradigm because there is no actual boon, only a lesson to be learned. In this respect, it can be argued that without a boon to give back to society, Po’s journey is not just that of a hero but as well as the beginning of his journey to becoming a mentor.

CONCLUSION:

Kung Fu Panda, directed by Stevenson and Osborne, twists the Campbell monomyth into something altogether new and memorable. By including a multi-generational mentor narrative, a literal and figurative “master of two worlds” stage, and an almost “fake” ultimate boon, Kung Fu Panda revolutionizes the old “heroic journey” paradigm. In contemporary cinema where the Hero archetype is overused, films remain classic when they transcend this trope and revitalize it with interesting interpretations. Kung Fu Panda is an underrated Disney animation film that is incomparable to any other Disney work due to its sophisticated take on Campbell’s monomyth paradigm.

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