someone who lives only for pleasure

Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind. The name derives from the Greek word for "pleasure" (ἡδονισμÏŒς hÄ“donismos from ἡδονή hÄ“donÄ“ "pleasure" + suffix ισμÏŒς ismos "ism". The first basic idea behind hedonistic thought is that all actions can be measured on the basis of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they produce. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize this total (pleasure minus pain). The nineteenth-century British philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham established the fundamental principles of hedonism through their ethical theory of Utilitarianism. Utilitarian value stands as a precursor to hedonistic values in that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Though consistent in their pursuit of happiness, Bentham and Mill’s hedonistic values are faintly divergent in relation to their exposition of the principle of utility. There are two somewhat basic schools of thought on hedonism: * One school, grouped around Jeremy Bentham, argues a quantitative approach. Bentham believed that the value of a pleasure could be quantitatively understood. Essentially, he believed the value of a pleasure to be its intensity multiplied by its duration - so it was not just the number of pleasures, but their intensity and how long they lasted that must be taken into account. * Other proponents, like John Stuart Mill argue a qualitative approach. Mill believed that there can be different levels of pleasure - higher quality pleasure is better than lower quality pleasure. Mill also argues that simpler beings (he often references pigs) have an easier access to the simpler pleasures; since they do not see other aspects of life, they can simply indulge in their pleasures. The more elaborate beings tend to spend more thought on other matters and hence lessen the time for simple pleasure. It is therefore more difficult for them to indulge in such 'simple pleasures' in the same manner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonist