Hedonism in Ancient India & Greece

Nick Gutierrez wonders if pleasure seeking is underrated as a virtue.

- Nick Gutierrez

In this article I want to examine an ethical theory that has never been quite as well-received as some others: hedonism. It’s an ancient theory, with well-documented precedents in both ancient Greece and India. My first aim is to introduce the doctrine of hedonism. I’ll provide a rough description of what hedonism is and what it looks like, based on Fred Feldman’s distinction between sensory pleasures and attitudinal pleasures. My second aim is to respond to charges of mysticism leveled at Asian philosophy. After my overview of hedonism, I’ll describe the ancient Indian Carvakaska school, a form of hedonism that was notably naturalistic or anti-mystical. I will then compare this Ancient Indian form of hedonism with an Ancient Greek form, namely Epicureanism. By comparing and contrasting the Indian hedonists with their Greek counterparts, and by illustrating how well-developed and varied hedonism actually is, my hope is that we can revisit hedonism as a viable ethical theory while simultaneously moving beyond the traditional dismissal of Asian philosophy found in the West.

What Is Hedonism?

In its most basic form, hedonism argues that one ought to pursue pleasure and avoid pain as the fundamental aim of human behaviour.