We All Strive for Pleasure and Happiness: Hedonism and Kantianism

Two opposites with a common goal

Photo by Giammarco on Unsplash

I was viewing an episode of one of my favorite HBO television series (Merlí: Sapere Aude). There was a contest in a philosophy class where half the students were on the right side, and the other half were on the left. On the left stood those who claimed to be Hedonists, while on the right stood people claiming to be Kantians.

I enjoy philosophy, which I find thrilling. Philosophy is the study of life’s big questions. Questions like “What is the meaning of life?” or “What are morals?” and many more. One question that philosophy looks at is whether pleasure or duty should be what people strive for in their lives. Let’s examine these two opposing philosophies — Hedonism and Kantianism -.

Hedonists and Kantians indeed stand in opposition to one another, but they both share a common interest — what is good for human beings. They have different views on how to implement this goal best.

The Hedonist believes that happiness comes from pursuing what pleases them. Whi…