ARISTIPPUS (c. 435-356 B.c.), Greek philosopher, the founder of the Cyrenaic school. At an early age he came from Cyrene to Athens, and he became the pupil of Socrates. After travelling through a number of Grecian cities, he founded his school at Cyrene (see CYRENAICS). Starting from the two Socratic principles of virtue and happiness, he emphasized the second, and made pleasure the criterion of life. That he held to be good which gives the maximum of pleasure. In pursuance of this he indulged in all forms of external luxury. The five letters attributed to him are spurious. His daughter Arete, and her son Aristippus Cu rpohbhaeros, "pupil of his mother"), carried on the school after his death. He comes very near to modern empiricism and especially to the modern Hedonist school.
See Aberweg's Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. i., Sec. tion 38 and Bibliography (1915) .