This is the first English translation of a compelling and highly original reading of Epicurus by Jean-Marie Guyau. This book has long been recognized as one of the best and most concerted attempts to explore one of the most important, yet controversial ancient philosophers whose thought, Guyau claims, remains vital to modern and contemporary culture. Throughout the text we are introduced to the origins of the philosophy of pleasure in Ancient Greece, with Guyau clearly demonstrating how this idea persists through the history of philosophy and how it is an essential trait in the Western tradition.

With an introduction by Keith Ansell-Pearson and Federico Testa, which contextualizes the work of Guyau within the canon of French thought, and notes on both further reading and on Epicurean scholarship more generally, this translation also acts as a critical introduction to the philosophy of Guyau and Epicurus.

Jean-Marie Guyau (1854 -1888) was a French philosopher and poet. His central works include Esquisse d'une morale sans obligation ni sanction (A Sketch of Morality Independent of Obligation or Sanction) and L'Irréligion de l'avenir (The Non-Religion of the Future). His works met an enthusiastic reception by important thinkers of his time, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Pierre Kropotkin and Henri Bergson.

Federico Testa is an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study of the University of Warwick, UK. His current research focuses on Michel Foucault's politics of life, French contemporary philosophy and the revival of Hellenistic tradition within Modern and Contemporary philosophy.

Keith Ansell Pearson holds a Personal Chair in Philosophy at the University of Warwick, UK. He is the author of acclaimed monographs on Nietzsche and Bergson and has published a number of essays on Guyau's ethics.