Welfare, happiness, and ethics

Along with such other persistent offenders as the real and the natural, the concept of the subjective is one of the most treacherous in the philosophers’ lexicon.

[T]here are quite commonplace instances of our not being averse to, or even relishing, pain. I can deliberately probe a loose tooth with my tongue and find the sharp pang which results quite delicious. In this case I have no difficulty identifying the feeling as painful; indeed, that seems to be part of its appeal.