Deck 3: The Good Life

Question 1

Going to the dentist is an example of something that is

A) instrumentally valuable.
B) intrinsically valuable.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Answer 1

A

Question 2

If something is intrinsically valuable, then it must

A) bring about other good things.
B) be valuable for its own sake.
C) be recognized to be valuable by everyone, not just some people.
D) be attainable by everyone.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to hedonism, the key ingredient to a good life is

A) happiness.
B) getting what you want.
C) doing God's will.
D) being kind to others.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

To say that something is instrumentally valuable is to say that it is

A) good for its own sake.
B) good because it helps us to achieve some other good.
C) good both for its own sake and for what it helps us to achieve.
D) useful to think it is valuable, even if it isn't really valuable.

Question 5

What would a hedonist say about a person who sometimes enjoyed being humiliated or manipulated?

A) These things would sometimes be good for such a person.
B) These things would never be good for such a person.
C) Hedonism would not apply to such a person.
D) The existence of such a person would disprove hedonism.

Question 6

According to the Argument from False Happiness, what is wrong with hedonism?

A) Hedonism says that it is possible for false beliefs to make us happy.
B) Hedonism says that happiness based on evil actions just as good as any other happiness.
C) Hedonism says that happiness based on false beliefs is just as good for us as happiness based on true beliefs.
D) all of the above

Question 7

A theory of the good life is supposed to tell us

A) which policies will make people better off.
B) why we ought to try to make other people's lives better.
C) which things are instrumentally good for us.
D) which things are intrinsically good for us.

Question 8

Which of the following does the hedonist believe is intrinsically valuable?

A) the pain of exercising
B) the good health that is a result of exercise
C) the happiness that accompanies being healthy
D) all of the above.

Question 9

Robert Nozick's "experience machine" thought experiment attempts to show that

A) happiness is not the sole element of the good life.
B) happiness is not the only thing that is intrinsically valuable.
C) happiness is only instrumentally valuable.
D) both a and b

Question 10

The Argument from Autonomy objects to hedonism on the grounds that

A) autonomy is intrinsically valuable, even though it cannot make us happy.
B) autonomy can contribute to a good life even when it fails to make us happy.
C) happiness is only valuable as insofar as it contributes to autonomy.
D) autonomy is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable.

Question 11

Hedonists respond to the Argument from Evil Pleasures by

A) admitting that the pleasure that comes from doing evil deeds is not valuable.
B) making a distinction between moral goodness and well-being.
C) making a distinction between physical and attitudinal pleasure.
D) none of the above (The "Evil Pleasures" objection refutes hedonism.)

Question 12

According to the desire satisfaction theory of welfare, something is intrinsically good for you

A) if it satisfies your desires.
B) only if it satisfies your desires.
C) because it satisfies your desires.
D) all of the above

Question 13

According to the desire satisfaction theory, getting what you want makes

A) you intrinsically better off.
B) you intrinsically better off only if it makes you happy.
C) everyone intrinsically better off.
D) everyone intrinsically better off if it creates more pleasure than pain.

Question 14

If the desire satisfaction theory is true, then health, wealth, and happiness are

A) always intrinsically valuable whether or not you want them.
B) intrinsically valuable if they help to satisfy your desires.
C) instrumentally valuable if they help to satisfy your desires.
D) always instrumentally valuable whether or not you want them

Question 15

A theory of the good life is an objective theory if and only if it claims

A) to be true.
B) to find a single ingredient (e.g., desire satisfaction) that is essential to a good life.
C) that certain things are good for us independently of our desires and opinions.
D) that welfare is to be found in material possessions rather than psychological states.

Question 16

Which of the following is widely considered an attraction of the desire satisfaction theory?

A) It makes what is good for us "up to us."
B) It explains why happiness is always good for us.
C) It explains why some things are good for us even if they don't satisfy any or our desires.
D) all of the above

Question 17

According to the text, desire satisfaction does not seem to be sufficient for a good life because

A) our desires can be based on false beliefs.
B) it is possible to desire things that are bad for us, like being a slave.
C) we sometimes fail to desire things that we would later recognize as improving our lives.
D) all of the above

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the three counterexamples to the desire satisfaction theory proposed in the text?

A) pleasant surprises
B) musicians
C) small children
D) suicide prevention

Question 19

According to the Motivation Argument,

A) if something is intrinsically good for you, then it will satisfy your desires.
B) if something will satisfy your desires, then you will be at least somewhat motivated to get it.
C) if something is intrinsically good for you, then you will be at least somewhat motivated to get it.
D) all of the above

Question 20

What is the desire satisfaction theory's explanation of why we are motivated to benefit ourselves?

A) Our beliefs about welfare motivate us.
B) Our desires motivate us.
C) We are socialized into the habit of benefiting ourselves.
D) Benefiting ourselves makes us happy, and the prospect of happiness motivates us.

Question 21

Explain the difference between intrinsic value and instrumental value and give examples of things you take to be valuable in each way. Next, define hedonism. What does the hedonist claim is intrinsically valuable and what does she claim is instrumentally valuable? Do you agree?
A good essay will:
Define intrinsic and instrumental value.
Define hedonism.
Explain what hedonists think about value, and either accept or reject it.

Question 22

Explain Nozick's "experience machine" thought experiment. According to hedonism, should you plug in to the experience machine? Why or why not? What does this tell us about the plausibility of hedonism?

Question 23

Briefly describe an example of an intuitively valuable life (it can be someone you know personally or someone you just know of). Explain what makes their life valuable. Does Hedonism do a good job of capturing all the dimensions of value in the life in your example? Why or why not?

Question 24

Explain the desire-satisfaction theory of the good life. What are some of its advantages and some of its disadvantages? Do you think the desire satisfaction can capture everything about what makes for a good life? Why or why not?

Question 25

Write an essay critically examining the following claim: "Something is good for us only if it satisfies our desires." Are there any cases in which we can be benefited without having any of our desires satisfied? Present a couple of cases that might be thought to have this feature and describe how you think a desire satisfaction theorist would respond.

Question 26

Case Study
In her essay "The Meanings of Lives," Susan Wolf asks us to consider a case she calls "The Blob." The Blob is a person who spends every day sitting in front of the TV, drinking beer, and watching reruns of the same shows. Imagine that this is truly all the Blob does, day after day. But nevertheless, the Blob is perfectly content-it is all he wants and it makes him happy. He has no health or financial problems, or other things to worry about.
S. Wolf, "The Meanings of Lives." In The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
This is an extreme example, but not terribly unrealistic. There are some people who have such low expectations for their lives that they are perfectly content engaging in the same seemingly meaningless activities day after day. Such cases might lead us to wonder whether some subjective condition, like pleasure and the absence of pain, or the satisfaction or our desires, is really all there is to living a good life.
-What do you think about the case of the Blob? Does the Blob live a good life? If not, what does this say about hedonism? What does it say about desire satisfaction theories?

Question 27

Case Study
In her essay "The Meanings of Lives," Susan Wolf asks us to consider a case she calls "The Blob." The Blob is a person who spends every day sitting in front of the TV, drinking beer, and watching reruns of the same shows. Imagine that this is truly all the Blob does, day after day. But nevertheless, the Blob is perfectly content-it is all he wants and it makes him happy. He has no health or financial problems, or other things to worry about.
S. Wolf, "The Meanings of Lives." In The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
This is an extreme example, but not terribly unrealistic. There are some people who have such low expectations for their lives that they are perfectly content engaging in the same seemingly meaningless activities day after day. Such cases might lead us to wonder whether some subjective condition, like pleasure and the absence of pain, or the satisfaction or our desires, is really all there is to living a good life.
-What of value (if anything) do you think the Blob's life is missing? What do you think this says about the nature of the good life?