Building a Better Aesthetic Hedonism

Aesthetic hedonism—the view that aesthetic value consists in pleasure—has faced serious objections in recent years, including James Shelley’s influential argument that it cannot account for the possibility of overvaluing an aesthetic object. Shouldn’t a hedonist aim for as much pleasure as possible? We propose an improved version of aesthetic hedonism that focuses on the whole of aesthetic life rather than isolated encounters with aesthetic objects. This shift reveals good reasons for the hedonist to care about correct evaluation, even when it leads to short-run losses in pleasure.