Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. This is often used as a justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they produce. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize this net pleasure (pleasure minus pain).
Etymology
The name derives from the
Greek word for "delight" (
hēdonismos from
hēdonē "pleasure", a cognate of English
sweet + suffix -ισμός
-ismos "
ism").
Classic schools of antiquity
Democritus seems to be the earliest philosopher on record to have categorically embraced a hedonistic philosophy; he called the supreme goal of life "contentment" or "cheerfulness", claiming that "joy and sorrow are the distinguishing mark of things beneficial and harmful" (
DK 68 B 188).
Cārvāka
Cārvāka was an
Indian hedonist school of thought that arose approximately about
600 BCE, and died out in the 14th century CE. The Cārvākas maintained that the Hindu scriptures are false, that the priests are liars, and that there is no
afterlife, and that pleasure should be the aim of living. Unlike other Indian schools of philosophy, the Cārvākas argued that there is nothing wrong with sensual indulgence. They held a
naturalistic worldview.
The Cyrenaic school
The Cyrenaics were an ultra-hedonist Greek school of philosophy founded in the 4th century BC, supposedly by
Aristippus of Cyrene, although many of the principles of the school are believed to have been formalized by his grandson of the same name,
Aristippus the Younger. The school was so called after
Cyrene, the birthplace of Aristippus. It was one of the earliest
Socratic schools. The Cyrenaics taught that the only intrinsic good is pleasure, which meant not just the absence of pain, but positively enjoyable sensations. Of these, momentary pleasures, especially physical ones, are stronger than those of anticipation or memory. They did, however, recognize the value of social obligation, and that pleasure could be gained from
altruism. The school died out within a century, and was replaced by the more sophisticated philosophy of
Epicureanism.
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of
philosophy based upon the teachings of
Epicurus (
c. 341–
c. 270 BC), founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an
atomic materialist, following in the steps of
Democritus. His
materialism led him to a general stance against superstition or the idea of divine intervention. Following
Aristippus—about whom very little is known—Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear (
ataraxia) as well as absence of bodily pain (
aponia) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form. Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism, insofar as it declares pleasure as the sole intrinsic good, its conception of absence of pain as the greatest pleasure and its advocacy of a simple life make it different from "hedonism" as it is commonly understood.
In the Epicurean view, the highest pleasure (tranquility and freedom from fear) was obtained by knowledge, friendship and living a virtuous and temperate life. He lauded the enjoyment of simple pleasures, by which he meant abstaining from bodily desires, such as sex and appetites, verging on asceticism. He argued that when eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later, such as the grim realization that one could not afford such delicacies in the future. Likewise, sex could lead to increased lust and dissatisfaction with the sexual partner. Epicurus did not articulate a broad system of social ethics that has survived.
Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, though later it became the main opponent of Stoicism. Epicurus and his followers shunned politics. After the death of Epicurus, his school was headed by Hermarchus; later many Epicurean societies flourished in the Late Hellenistic era and during the Roman era (such as those in Antiochia, Alexandria, Rhodes and Ercolano). The poet Lucretius is its most known Roman proponent. By the end of the Roman Empire, having undergone Christian attack and repression, Epicureanism had all but died out, and would be resurrected in the 17th century by the atomist Pierre Gassendi, who adapted it to the Christian doctrine.
Some writings by Epicurus have survived. Some scholars consider the epic poem On the Nature of Things by Lucretius to present in one unified work the core arguments and theories of Epicureanism. Many of the papyrus scrolls unearthed at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum are Epicurean texts. At least some are thought to have belonged to the Epicurean Philodemus.
Christian
Christian hedonism is a controversial
Christian doctrine current in some
evangelical circles, particularly those of the
Reformed tradition. The term was coined by
Reformed Baptist pastor
John Piper in his 1986 book
Desiring God. Piper summarizes this philosophy of the Christian life as "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Christian Hedonism may anachronistically describe the theology of
Jonathan Edwards. In the 17th century the atomist
Pierre Gassendi, adapted Epicureanism to the Christian doctrine.
Utilitarianism
Mohism
Mohism was a philosophical school of thought founded by
Mozi in the 5th century BC. It paralleled the utilitarianism later developed by
English thinkers. As
Confucianism became the preferred philosophy of later Chinese dynasties, Mohism and other non-Confucian philosophical schools of thought were suppressed.
Modern utilitarianism
The 18th and 19th-century British philosophers
Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill defended the ethical theory of
utilitarianism, according to which we should perform whichever action maximizes the aggregate good. Conjoining hedonism, as a view as to what is good for people, to utilitarianism has the result that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest total amount of happiness (Hedonic Calculus). Though consistent in their pursuit of happiness, Bentham and Mill’s versions of hedonism differ. There are two somewhat basic schools of thought on hedonism:
Michel Onfray
A dedicated contemporary hedonist philosopher and on the history of hedonistic thought is the French
Michel Onfray. He defines hedonism "as an introspective attitude to life based on taking pleasure yourself and pleasuring others, without harming yourself or anyone else." "Onfray's philosophical project is to define an ethical hedonism, a joyous
utilitarianism, and a generalized
aesthetic of sensual
materialism that explores how to use the brain's and the body's capacities to their fullest extent -- while restoring philosophy to a useful role in art, politics, and everyday life and decisions."
Onfray's works "have explored the philosophical resonances and components of (and challenges to) science, painting, gastronomy, sex and sensuality, bioethics, wine, and writing. His most ambitious project is his projected six-volume Counter-history of Philosophy," His philosophy aims "for "micro-revolutions, " or revolutions of the individual and small groups of like-minded people who live by his hedonistic, libertarian values."
Abolitionism
The
Abolitionist Society is a
transhumanist group calling for the abolition of
suffering in all sentient life through the use of advanced
biotechnology. Their core philosophy is
negative utilitarianism.
Criticism
Hedonism has been criticized by a number of modern authors and philosophers.
G.E. Moore argued that hedonists commit the naturalistic fallacy.
Ayn Rand, widely read as a modern proponent of ethical egoism, rejected ethical hedonism:
To take "whatever makes one happy" as a guide to action means: to be guided by nothing but one's emotional whims. Emotions are not tools of cognition. . . . This is the fallacy inherent in hedonism – in any variant of ethical hedonism, personal or social, individual or collective. "Happiness" can properly be the purpose of ethics, but not the standard. The task of ethics is to define man's proper code of values and thus to give him the means of achieving happiness. To declare, as the ethical hedonists do, that "the proper value is whatever gives you pleasure" is to declare that "the proper value is whatever you happen to value" – which is an act of intellectual and philosophical abdication, an act which merely proclaims the futility of ethics and invites all men to play it deuces wild.
See also
Abolitionism (bioethics)
Affectionism
Christian hedonism
Dandyism - a philosophy based on Hedonism, popular during the late-19th century
Egoist anarchism
Ethical egoism
Hedonistic relevance
Paradox of hedonism
Pleasure principle (psychology)
Psychological egoism
Psychological hedonism
Rational egoism
Utilitarianism
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
Manifesto of the Hedonist International
Category:Hedonism
Category:Motivation
Category:Utilitarianism
Category:Happiness
Category:Ethical theories
Category:Philosophical movements
