Birth of Hedonism
Subtitle: The Cyrenaic Philosophers and Pleasure As a Way of Life
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780691161136
Subjects: Hedonism; Philosophy, ancient
Description: According to Xenophon, Socrates tried to persuade his associate Aristippus to moderate his excessive indulgence in wine, women, and food, arguing that only hard work can bring happiness. Aristippus wasn't convinced. Instead, he and his followers espoused the most radical form of hedonism in ancient Western philosophy. Before the rise of the better known but comparatively ascetic Epicureans, the Cyrenaics pursued a way of life in which moments of pleasure, particularly bodily pleasure, held the highest value. In The Birth of Hedonism, Kurt Lampe provides the most comprehensive account in any language of Cyrenaic ideas and behavior, revolutionizing the understanding of this neglected but important school of philosophy.