It developed into a more nuanced psychological and ethical theory, but the main idea of hedonism remains: a person ought to pursue the greatest pleasure. It reemerged prominently in the late 18 th century under philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and began gaining traction once more. The Epicurean school of thought flourished, especially in Rome, and was one of the forces that resisted early Christianity.įor a while, hedonism lay low, though it was occasionally addressed, for example by Aquinas. Around roughly the same time, Chinese philosopher Yang Zhu taught that since there was no afterlife and no god, one might as well pursue as much pleasure as possible in the present.Īristippus was succeeded by Epicurus, who also taught that there was no afterlife and the ultimate goal was pleasure, though he acknowledged that sometimes some pain or restraint could be good if they led to greater pleasure.

Though Aristippus may have been the first to teach hedonism, he wasn’t alone. He taught that the meaning of life is pleasure, and thus pleasure should be the ultimate pursuit. The philosophy of hedonism is believed to have first been taught by Aristippus of Cyrene, a student of Socrates. The term hedonism itself dates back to the ancient Greek word for pleasure. Let's dive into the origin of this and find a hedonism meaning and definition from the Bible. However, some Christians believe that a different form of hedonism- “Christian hedonism”-is in fact worthwhile and ultimately glorifying to God. For many, the word “hedonism” may conjure ideas of loose living or earthly pleasures.

Hedonism definition