The hedonism debate

摘要

The quest for happiness was crucial to enlightened thinkers throughout Europe. I would not want to suggest that British thinkers had any corner on the idea. Nevertheless, it was a notion that found many of its earliest and most ardent champions in Britain. "I will faithfully pursue that happiness I propose to myself," insisted John Locke—physician as well as philosopher —at the end of the 17th century. And English thinkers remained to the fore in championing the right to happiness.