--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I…" description: "\"I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended hedonistic utilitarianism for quite a while.\" — Torbjorn Tannsjo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_hedonistic_i-am-indeed-a-hedonistic-utilitarian-i-h_512268.jpg" --- # I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended… ![“I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended hedonistic utilitarianism for quite a while.” quote by Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_hedonistic_i-am-indeed-a-hedonistic-utilitarian-i-h_512268.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_hedonistic_i-am-indeed-a-hedonistic-utilitarian-i-h_512268.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_hedonistic_i-am-indeed-a-hedonistic-utilitarian-i-h_512268.jpg) > “I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended hedonistic utilitarianism for quite a while.” [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for pleasure‑based moral calculus, arguing that maximizing happiness defines right action. **In simple terms:** Pleasure‑focused moral theory. Key Takeaway Prioritize actions that increase overall well‑being. Themes ethics hedonism utilitarianism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical argumentative When to use this quote - policy design - personal decision‑making - public health - environmental regulation Key Concepts consequentialism well‑being moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance pleasure with fairness? - Can happiness be measured objectively? A Different Perspective May overlook rights, justice, or minority harms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defended Hedonistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defended-hedonistic-4338189/) [Hedonistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonistic/) [Hedonistic Utilitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonistic-utilitarian-2739996/) [Hedonistic Utilitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonistic-utilitarianism-4338188/) [Utilitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilitarian/) [Utilitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilitarianism/) [Utilitarianism Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilitarianism-quite-4338190/) ## Related quotes > [What interests me is the following paradox: of how, precisely in our liberal societies, where no one can even imagine a transcendental cause for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-interests-me-is-the-following-paradox-of-how-precisely-in-our/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular acts was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Once we realise that utilitarianism comes with the idea of blameworthy rightdoing (such as when you push a big man onto the tracks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/once-we-realise-that-utilitarianism-comes-with-the-idea-of/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Utilitarianism condones killing of innocent human beings, even murder, if it makes the world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/utilitarianism-condones-killing-of-innocent-human-beings-even-murder/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [These theories, deontology, the moral rights theory, and utilitarianism, contradict one another. Moreover, they give conflicting (inconsistent) recommendations. It is hence not possible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/these-theories-deontology-the-moral-rights-theory-and-utilitarianism/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [It is of note that even if utilitarianism has proved to be superior to deontology and the libertarian moral rights theory in the area…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/it-is-of-note-that-even-if-utilitarianism-has-proved-to-be-superior/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Life does not require us to be consistent, cruel, patient, helpful, angry, rational, thoughtless, loving, rash, open-minded, neurotic, careful, rigid, tolerant, wasteful, rich, downtrodden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/life-does-not-require-us-to-be-consistent-cruel-patient-helpful-angry/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The American people have to think hard about their definition of the meaning of the good life, that hedonistic, materialistic society of high levels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-american-people-have-to-think-hard-about-their-definition-of-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Personally, I am a hedonistic reader; I have never read a book merely because it was ancient. I read books for the aesthetic emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/personally-i-am-a-hedonistic-reader-i-have-never-read-a-book-merely/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [It just seemed hedonistic when I first started acting. It was a pleasurable thing. But as I look back on it now, I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cho/it-just-seemed-hedonistic-when-i-first-started-acting-it-was-a/) [John Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cho/) > [It's easier to be hedonistic and just chase after whatever appeals to your senses. That's the life of an animal, you just do. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/it-s-easier-to-be-hedonistic-and-just-chase-after-whatever-appeals-to/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [I obsess everyday about everything. Not only about what we do well but what we can do better... In the end, the only reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-obsess-everyday-about-everything-not-only-about-what-we-do-well-but/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [I had a lot of friends that were extremely hedonistic, extremely debauched, swapping partners etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-anderton/i-had-a-lot-of-friends-that-were-extremely-hedonistic-extremely/) [Sophie Anderton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-anderton/) > [These movies belonged to the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries that period of great, unsustainable, and hedonistic prosperity, driven by the burning of Earth's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/these-movies-belonged-to-the-twentieth-and-early-twenty-first/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) ## More by Torbjorn Tannsjo > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I do believe that what I have called populist democracy is to be preferred to what I have called elitist democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-do-believe-that-what-i-have-called-populist-democracy-is-to-be/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [It is true that it feels very differently to enjoy a good meal, taking part in an interesting conversation, or to think of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/it-is-true-that-it-feels-very-differently-to-enjoy-a-good-meal-taking/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [It is obvious that humanity faces existential threats of a global nature. They are global in the sense that is not possible to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/it-is-obvious-that-humanity-faces-existential-threats-of-a-global/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [To kill or not to kill, that was the question that haunted me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-that-was-the-question-that-haunted-me/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Are there any good arguments in defence of moral nihilism? I think not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/are-there-any-good-arguments-in-defence-of-moral-nihilism-i-think-not/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [According to deontology it is wrong to kill an innocent human being, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/according-to-deontology-it-is-wrong-to-kill-an-innocent-human-being/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [How could it be that I had a legal obligation to kill people I did not know, and who did certainly not consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/how-could-it-be-that-i-had-a-legal-obligation-to-kill-people-i-did/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I want to think that there are better ways of obviating murder than to resort to capital punishment, but I realise that this may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-want-to-think-that-there-are-better-ways-of-obviating-murder-than/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Even where people in different cultures agree they may all have gone wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/even-where-people-in-different-cultures-agree-they-may-all-have-gone/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [The Chinese are generally speaking much more reluctant than Westerners to killing as a means to the rescue of lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/the-chinese-are-generally-speaking-much-more-reluctant-than/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [What we need is legislation, not negotiation, for the entire globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/what-we-need-is-legislation-not-negotiation-for-the-entire-globe/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [There comes a time where next to everyone will resort to techniques that enhance cognitive, mental including emotive, physical, and other capacities. When this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/there-comes-a-time-where-next-to-everyone-will-resort-to-techniques/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I believe that one basic question, what we ought to do, period (the moral question), is a genuine one. There exists a true answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-believe-that-one-basic-question-what-we-ought-to-do-period-the/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Global governance need not take a democratic form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/global-governance-need-not-take-a-democratic-form/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) [Explore all 55 Torbjorn Tannsjo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) ## More Hedonistic quotes > [These movies belonged to the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries that period of great, unsustainable, and hedonistic prosperity, driven by the burning of Earth's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/these-movies-belonged-to-the-twentieth-and-early-twenty-first/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I had a lot of friends that were extremely hedonistic, extremely debauched, swapping partners etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-anderton/i-had-a-lot-of-friends-that-were-extremely-hedonistic-extremely/) [Sophie Anderton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-anderton/) > [I obsess everyday about everything. Not only about what we do well but what we can do better... In the end, the only reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-obsess-everyday-about-everything-not-only-about-what-we-do-well-but/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular acts was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [It's easier to be hedonistic and just chase after whatever appeals to your senses. That's the life of an animal, you just do. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/it-s-easier-to-be-hedonistic-and-just-chase-after-whatever-appeals-to/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [It just seemed hedonistic when I first started acting. It was a pleasurable thing. But as I look back on it now, I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cho/it-just-seemed-hedonistic-when-i-first-started-acting-it-was-a/) [John Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cho/) > [Personally, I am a hedonistic reader; I have never read a book merely because it was ancient. I read books for the aesthetic emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/personally-i-am-a-hedonistic-reader-i-have-never-read-a-book-merely/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The American people have to think hard about their definition of the meaning of the good life, that hedonistic, materialistic society of high levels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-american-people-have-to-think-hard-about-their-definition-of-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Life does not require us to be consistent, cruel, patient, helpful, angry, rational, thoughtless, loving, rash, open-minded, neurotic, careful, rigid, tolerant, wasteful, rich, downtrodden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/life-does-not-require-us-to-be-consistent-cruel-patient-helpful-angry/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I took what I was given in Christianity and put it into my secular, hedonistic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-coel/i-took-what-i-was-given-in-christianity-and-put-it-into-my-secular/) [Michaela Coel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-coel/) > [I'm no wealthier than Bibi Netanyahu or Arik Sharon. I don't feel that I'm more hedonistic than Ehud Olmert, or Yitzhak Rabin or Shimon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/i-m-no-wealthier-than-bibi-netanyahu-or-arik-sharon-i-don-t-feel-that/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) > [The word "hedonistic" to me means pleasure above all else. My pleasure above all else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-melamed/the-word-hedonistic-to-me-means-pleasure-above-all-else-my-pleasure/) [Fred Melamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-melamed/) > [I don't think Israelis are less critical of corruption than people in Italy, France or America. Israel is special in a different way. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-don-t-think-israelis-are-less-critical-of-corruption-than-people-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [What interests me is the following paradox: of how, precisely in our liberal societies, where no one can even imagine a transcendental cause for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-interests-me-is-the-following-paradox-of-how-precisely-in-our/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) [Browse all 50 Hedonistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. 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