Hedone () is the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word meaning "

pleasure Pleasure is experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious animals find ...

". It was an important concept in

Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics ...

, especially in the Epicurean school. It is also the root of the English word "

hedonism Hedonism is a family of Philosophy, philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is Motivation, motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of Psycholo ...

". In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Hedone is personified as a goddess of pleasure, enjoyment, and delight, as the daughter born from the union of

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

(personification of love) and Psyche (personification of the soul). She was associated more specifically with sensual pleasure. Her opposites were the Algea, personifications of pain. Her equivalent in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

is Voluptas. There is no evidence that she was ever the object of cult worship.

Aristotle's Hēdonē

Aristotle identified it as one of the two elements or components of ''pathe'', with the other being ''lype'' or pain. Aristotle described ''pathe'' in these words: "Let the emotions be all those things on account of which people change their minds and differ in regard to their judgments, and upon which attend pain and pleasure." ''Hēdonē,'' is part of Aristotle's account of virtue, such that 'pleasure' (along with pain) is said to reveal a person's character. It is good if it is a consequence of a virtuous life – as opposed to the position Aristippus, who holds that hēdonē is "wholly good". An example is the concept of proper pleasure or ''oikeia hedone'', which Aristotle discusses in /Poetics/ and considers a process of restoration.

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

interprets Aristotelian hēdonē: that pleasure is a movement of the soul and that tranquility arises from it.

In Epicureanism

In the philosophy of

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

, ''hēdonē'' is described as a pleasure that may or may not derive from actions that are virtuous, whereas another form of pleasure, ''terpsis'', is always virtuous. Another Epicurean reading, which distinguished ''hēdonē'' from ''terpsis,'' referred to it as a feeling of pleasure that is episodic and might or might not be beneficial. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Epicurus uses ''hēdonē'' in reference to only physical pleasures.

Stoicism

The

Stoics Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...

held a negative view of ''hēdonē,'' arguing that it is not in accordance with nature and reason. This can be understood within the philosophy's position that emotions are by definition excessive or are excessive impulses that exceed the measure of natural reason and – as in other forms of excess – leads to other evils of irrationality.

References

External links

* {{Greek mythology (deities) Hedonism Epicureanism Concepts in ancient Greek ethics Personifications in Greek mythology Greek love and lust goddesses

Aristotle's Hēdonē

In Epicureanism

Stoicism

See also

References

External links