Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.
- devotion to pleasure as a way of life: The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism.
noun
- ethics
- the doctrine that moral value can be defined in terms of pleasureSee utilitarianism
- the doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good
- the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of principle
- indulgence in sensual pleasures
In ethics, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good in life. Some hedonists, such as the Epicureans, have insisted that pleasure of the entire mind, not just pleasure of the senses, is this highest good.