What is Hedonism?

Hedonism is the philosophic theory which holds pleasure to be the supreme good. The ancient Greek school of Aristippus and the Cyrenaics stressed the immediate happiness of the individual; the Epicurean school modified this by insisting that some consideration for others was necessary to happiness. Utilitarianism, a modern form of hedonism, has as its aim the collective happiness of men, the greatest good for the greatest number. Its leading exponents are: J. S. Mill, Bentham, Hume, and Sidgwick.