6 questions · Philosophy
How should we act, and what makes a good life? The great ethical designs give strikingly different answers to that question and most of them are more than two thousand years old. Hedonism is the umbrella term for all doctrines that make pleasure the highest good. Epicureanism belongs to that family, though in a version that surprises many people: Epicurus was not after indulgence but after moderate pleasure and, above all, peace of mind: freedom from pain and fear. A piece of cheese and a conversation among friends suited him better than a banquet. The Stoa took the opposite route. It taught composure towards fate, that is, the clear distinction between what is within our power and what is not. Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his Meditations in that spirit, at night in an army camp. The modern age reframes the question. Deontology judges actions by duty and reason: intention counts, not outcome: a lie stays wrong even when it helps. Utilitarianism reverses exactly that and measures actions by the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Jeremy Bentham is regarded as its founder; he seriously proposed a formula for calculating happiness and left his embalmed body to University College London, where it still sits today. Knowing both sides makes most of today's disputes easier to follow: from the distribution of scarce medicines to the old question of whether the end justifies the means.
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hedonism
Hedonism sees pleasure and joy as the highest good. In its classical form (Epicurus), though, that meant above all freedom from pain and moderate pleasures, not excess.
💡 Did you know? Epicurus taught that friendship and a simple life make us happiest.
deontology
Deontology judges actions by fixed duties and rules: regardless of consequences. Immanuel Kant is its best-known proponent.
💡 Did you know? By its logic, lying would be wrong even if it had good consequences.
Jeremy Bentham
The English philosopher wanted to make morality 'calculable' and proposed a 'happiness calculus'. He was an early advocate of reforms such as criminal law and animal welfare.
💡 Did you know? His preserved body is still kept in a cabinet at University College London.
Stoicism
The Stoa taught distinguishing what we can influence from what we cannot and calmly accepting the latter. Emperor Marcus Aurelius was one of its followers.
💡 Did you know? Stoic ideas are enjoying a comeback today in self-help books and apps.
Utilitarianism
It is a form of consequentialism: outcomes count.
💡 Did you know? Bentham and Mill are its chief figures.
Epicureanism
It is named after the philosopher Epicurus.
💡 Did you know? It means moderation, not gluttony.
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