How did Epicurean ideas influence later utilitarian ethics?

Epicureanism significantly influenced the development of utilitarianism by establishing a hedonistic framework that identifies pleasure as the ultimate good and pain as the ultimate evil. While modern usage often misinterprets Epicureanism as a pursuit of sensory indulgence, the school actually emphasized the importance of prudence and the reduction of pain to achieve tranquility.123

This focus on pleasure and pain provided a foundational logic for later utilitarian thinkers:

• Calculus of Utility: Epicurus’s systematic approach to evaluating actions based on their ability to increase pleasure or reduce pain served as a precursor to the utilitarian method. Jeremy Bentham later refined this into a "moral arithmetic," a quantitative approach to ethics that mirrors the Epicurean focus on utility.21
• Instrumental Value: Epicureans viewed virtues like justice and friendship as valuable primarily because they produce pleasure or prevent pain. This instrumentalist view of social arrangements is a core component of utilitarian thought.214
• Evolution of Thought: While early Epicureanism focused on the individual’s tranquility, later utilitarianism—particularly in the work of John Stuart Mill—expanded these principles into a broader ethical system that considers the well-being of all those affected by an action.13