Epicurus is the generally considered "founder" of the philosophy of hedonism. Epicurus of Samos (341-270 B.C.) and his philosophy have been controversial for over two millennia. One reason is our tendency to reject pleasure as a moral good. We usually think of charity, compassion, humility, wisdom, honor, justice, and other virtues as morally good and pleasure as, at best, morally neutral, but for Epicurus, behavior in pursuit of pleasure assured an upright life. It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably and justly without living pleasantly. Whenever any one of these is lacking, when, for instance, the man is not able to live wisely, though he lives honorably and justly, it is impossible for him to live a pleasant life. By Epicurus, from Principal DoctrinesHedonism is what many of us think of when we hear his name, but ataraxia, the experience of optimal, enduring pleasure, is what we should associate with the atomist philosopher. He says we should not try to increase our pleasure beyond the point of maximum intensity. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/philosophyscience/a/Epicurus.htm (there is more information on this site. ) The nineteenth-century British philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham established the fundamental principles of hedonism.