Hedonists claim that pleasure is the highest good and the measure of right action. Which statement best captures this view?

Hedonists claim that pleasure is the highest good and the measure of right action. Which statement best captures this view?

• A. Pleasure is the highest good and the measure of right action
• B. Knowledge is the only good
• C. Duty is the sole good
• D. Wealth accumulation is the ultimate goal

Answer: (A)

Hedonism holds that pleasure is the final end we should seek and that the rightness of an action is determined by the amount of pleasure it produces. The statement that best captures this view says pleasure is the highest good and the measure of right action, meaning actions are right to the extent they maximize pleasure (or minimize pain) and are wrong to the extent they produce less pleasure. This ties the value of outcomes directly to the experience of pleasure, making it the ultimate standard for judging actions. The other options drift from this core idea: claiming knowledge is the only good elevates intellectual goods above pleasure, which isn’t what hedonism asserts; duty as the sole good grounds right action in obligation rather than in pleasure; wealth as the ultimate goal shifts the focus to material gains rather than the experiential good of pleasure.

Hedonism holds that pleasure is the final end we should seek and that the rightness of an action is determined by the amount of pleasure it produces. The statement that best captures this view says pleasure is the highest good and the measure of right action, meaning actions are right to the extent they maximize pleasure (or minimize pain) and are wrong to the extent they produce less pleasure. This ties the value of outcomes directly to the experience of pleasure, making it the ultimate standard for judging actions.

The other options drift from this core idea: claiming knowledge is the only good elevates intellectual goods above pleasure, which isn’t what hedonism asserts; duty as the sole good grounds right action in obligation rather than in pleasure; wealth as the ultimate goal shifts the focus to material gains rather than the experiential good of pleasure.