Theories of pleasure from Aristotle to Spencer

Author's name: John Watsondar Publisher: Kalima Project for Translation Year of publication: 2022 Literary classification: Philosophy and Thought Brief about the book: In this book, the author studies the theories of pleasure from the days of the early Greeks to the time of writing the book, starting with the Sophists and their influence on thought in general, and on this theory in particular. Then he moves to study its completion with Aristippus, a forgotten student of Socrates, and how he linked sensation in the theory of knowledge with the doctrine of pleasure in moral philosophy, and how pleasure became the ultimate goal of life. Then the author moves to study Epicurus, who was nothing but an improved version of Aristippus, preoccupied with the fear of pain and the desire to escape from it — about anything else. Then he proceeds to British philosophers whom he sees as an extension of this school: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, and explains how their doctrine gradually shifted from being a doctrine of pleasure to a doctrine of the public benefit, seeking to reconcile the interests of the individual, society, and the state.