Respect of Utilitarianism: A Response to Regan's 'Receptacles of Value' Objection

According to Regan, classical utilitarians value individuals in the wrong way: rather than valuing them directly, the utilitarians must value individuals merely as receptacles of what is valuable (i.e. pleasure). I demonstrate that Regan's argument is ineffective. I first show that Regan's argument presupposes a faulty understanding of the nature of hedonism and intrinsic value. I then argue that since pleasures are states of individuals, when a person values a pleasure she thereby values the individual as well.