Here is how I would define axiological hedonism:
- Suffering, i.e. any negatively valenced experience, has intrinsic disvalue.
- Pleasure, i.e. any positively valenced experience, has intrinsic value.
- Nothing else has intrinsic value or disvalue.
The core of my take on axiology is that something has intrinsic (dis)value if and only if it literally is valuable. Intuitions are not evidence for intrinsic value.
I am convinced that suffering (and pleasure) fit this criterion. The disvalue of suffering is self-evident from introspection, i.e. from observing how suffering feels. The disvalue is inherent in the experience; it is not a matter of an evaluation done by me, or a desire for the suffering to stop felt by me (even though there is a strong correlation), or me having a certain attitude towards suffering.
That being said, I think a subjective judgment cannot be avoided when it comes to comparison of (different kinds of) suffering and pleasure. In the words of John Stuart Mill:
Neither pains nor pleasures are homogeneous, and pain is always heterogeneous with pleasure. What is there to decide whether a particular pleasure is worth purchasing at the cost of a particular pain, except the feelings and judgment of the experienced? (What Utilitarianism Is)
An experience does not inherently carry information about its commensurability with other experiences, but it does carry the basic information that its value is positive or negative. The basic variant of axiological hedonism is only concerned with the latter.
I'd add that to the extent conscious experience can be considered "self evident" only one's own experience of pain and pleasure can be "self evident" via conscious experience.
If Nunik's contention is that only things which achieve that experiential level of validation can be assigned intrinsic value with intuitions carrying zero evidential weight, it seems we would have to disregard our intuitions that other people or creatures might have similar experiences, and attach zero value to their possible pain/pleasure.
I mean, hedonic egoism is a philosophical position, but perhaps not a well-regarded one on a forum for people trying to be altruistic...