Aristippus

Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435–c. 355 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher best known as the founder of the Cyrenaic school of Hedonism. This school argued that pleasure is the highest good and that happiness is achieved through the pursuit of immediate sensory gratification, tempered only by the avoidance of pain.

Born in Cyrene in North Africa, Aristippus is traditionally associated with the Socratic milieu of his time, though his ethical program diverged from other Socratic strands. He is said to have traveled to Sicily and taught at the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, where he sought to demonstrate that worldly pleasure could be a guide to living well. He emphasized practical self-control and the ability to enjoy pleasures without being enslaved by them.

Doctrine and method: The Cyrenaic position centers on the primacy of present pleasures. Aristippus maintained that all pleasures are good in themselves and that the wise person seeks to maximize immediate pleasure while minimizing present pain. He stressed the reliability of sense experience as the ground of value judgments and argued that virtue is not the essential precondition of happiness, though prudent conduct can help secure gratifying experiences.

Influence and legacy: The Cyrenaic school persisted beyond Aristippus and was developed by later philosophers such as Anniceris, Hegesias, and Pelops, who refined or contested aspects of his view on pleasure, memory, and long-term well-being. Aristippus’s ideas contributed to the broader tradition of hedonism and sparked ongoing debate about the role of pleasure, virtue, and prudence in a good life.