Weekly Reflection 1

‘Not all egoists are hedonists and not all hedonists are egoists’- Explain this statement with relevant
examples.

“Egoism” and “Hedonism” are two philosophical terms that define and describe one’s actions.

Egoists are those kinds of people who perform actions only for their own needs. Their moral point of view stands on
the basis of only their self-interest, their actions only having outcomes that will be beneficial to them, no matter
what- even if it harms others. For example: Saying no to helping a plumber lying on the road, because he is covered
in dirt. Hedonists are the type of people who justify the need to perform their actions on the belief that the action
will give them self-pleasure. Their actions are as such that they feel satisfied and it does not necessarily have to be
only good for them, their self-satisfaction gets the utmost priority. For example: Skipping study and going on a tour
with friends even if he/she has final exams coming the following week.

Firstly, not all egoists are hedonists. It is simply because all egoists do not act for their pleasure and satisfaction,
sometimes egoists act upon reasons that directly do not refer to their self interest that is going to meet the needs for
their own good, but some other sort of good to them. For example: A student. A student does feel satisfied studying,
it does not make him/her feel good about it, but he/she does it for their better future.
Secondly, not all hedonists are egoists. All hedonists do not seek their own satisfaction and pleasure,having the pain
being absent, rather there are hedonists that find peace and happiness when the outcome is oriented in the favor for a
particular majority. This is called utilitarianism, also called social hedonism. For example: A patriotic soldier. A
patriotic soldier would go through enormous pain for his/her country but would find satisfaction and pleasure
because the people of his/her country would feel good.