Minimalist Axiologies: Alternatives to ‘Good Minus Bad’ Views of Value

Can suffering be counterbalanced by the creation of other things? In Minimalist Axiologies, Teo Ajantaival explores how we can have reasonable and nuanced views of positive value, wellbeing, and lives worth living — all without the assumption of intrinsic positive value. This book consists of six interconnected essays. These essays will help readers better understand what have previously been called purely negative theories of value, wellbeing, and ethics, which often have roots in Buddhist or Epicurean philosophy. The book shows how these views can be presented in more complete and psychologically intuitive ways that include their positive aspects. "Teo Ajantaival's new book is an important, original, and tremendously valuable contribution to value theory, and a badly needed corrective to alternative theories that assume that moral goods and bads are simply additive. Even those who, in the end, may have reservations about a thoroughgoing 'minimalist' theory of value will benefit from Ajantaival's careful and persuasive presentation of this under-appreciated alternative." — Clark Wolf, Director of Bioethics, Professor of Philosophy, Iowa State University "The idea that happiness and suffering have similar value, just with opposite signs, is so intuitive that it is often accepted without question. Only when we think more deeply about the meaning of intrinsic value does this intuition unravel – and along with it, the flawed notion that extreme suffering is always tolerable if there is enough bliss to compensate for it. In this volume, Teo Ajantaival strings together six standalone essays on what he terms "minimalist" theories of value, describing a range of views from philosophers who reject the "plus-minus" notion of value. A welcome contribution to the field of ethics, and to the rational justification for giving suffering the prominence it deserves. " — Jonathan Leighton, Executive Director of the Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering (OPIS), author of The Battle for Compassion and The Tango of Ethics