Hedonism

Hedonism (Greek hēdonē, “pleasure”), in philosophy, the doctrine that pleasure is the sole or chief good in life and that the pursuit of it is the ideal aim of conduct. Two important hedonistic theories were expounded in ancient Greece. The Cyrenaics, or egoistic hedonists, espoused a doctrine in which gratification of one's immediate personal desires, without regard for other persons, is considered the supreme end of existence. Knowledge, according to the Cyrenaics, is rooted in the fleeting sensations of the moment, and it is therefore futile to attempt the formulation of a system of moral values in which the desirability of present pleasures is weighed against the pain they may cause in the future. Unlike the egoistic hedonists, the Epicureans, or rational hedonists, contended that the true pleasure is attainable only by reason. They stressed the virtues of self-control and prudence.

Both doctrines survived practically without change until modern times. In the 18th and 19th centuries such British philosophers as Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill propounded the doctrine of universalistic hedonism, better known as utilitarianism. According to this theory, the ultimate criterion of human behavior is the good of society, and the guiding principle of individual moral conduct is allegiance to that which procures and promotes the welfare of the greatest number of people.