Since  moral  valuation  is  the  result  of  external  conditions,  it
follows  that  the  hedonist  is  a  believer  in  determinism  as  opposed
to  free  will.  Just  what  is  meant  by  free  will  is  not  always  clear.
According  to  the  more  usual  interpretation,  it  means  that  action


AS   A   SYSTEM   OF   PHILOSOPHY  loi

is  not  determined  in  any  way,  —  neither  by  mechanical  condi-
tions nor  by  conscious  estimates  of  value ;  according  to  Kant
and  his  school,  it  means  that  action  is  determined  by  '  reason,'
that  is,  by  conscious  estimates  of  value,  but  not  by  mechanical
conditions ;  in  the  latter  definition  it  is  assumed  that  irrational
actions  are  due  to  the  blind  forces  of  habit  and  association.
On  either  definition  it  is  clear  that  the  hedonist  is  a  deter-
minist ;  for  he  believes  that  all  activity,  including  that  which
follows  apparently  upon  consciousness  and  foresight  as  well  as
that  which  is  apparently  blind  and  mechanical,  is  ultimately  the
inevitable  outcome  of  external  mechanical  conditions.  This
position  is  also  a  logical  consequence  of  the  standpoint  of  ex-
ternal observation ;  for,  viewed  externally,  the  actions  of  men
are  nothing  but  the  effects  of  external  stimuli ;  hke  the  actions
of  physical  objects  they  are  resultants  of  physical  conditions.
It  is  only  from  the  inner  standpoint  of  feehng  that  they  seem  to
be  an  original  product  of  self-activity.  And  it  is  to  be  noted
in  this  connection  that,  in  our  naive  judgments  about  freedom,
we  are  inclined  to  claim  freedom  for  our  own  acts  while  assert-
ing the  acts  of  others  to  be  determined.  It  may  further  be
mentioned  that,  while  moralists  of  other  schools  call  themselves
sometimes  determinists  and  sometimes  libertarians,  a  hedonist
is  almost  invariably  an  avowed  determinist.
