Eudaimonia is a Greek word derived from ancient Greek philosophy, which is often translated to broadly mean "human flourishing", "happiness", "to live virtuously". It is a word that is often central to the question of "how to live a good life".
Definition: A Greek word that literally means "having a good demon". Often translated as "happiness", but more accurate is "flourishing".
Insight: Eudaimonia is achieved by having virtuous behaviour - doing the right things for the right reasons.
Insight: Aristotle identified "akrasia" or "weakness of the will" as the major obstacle to increasing eudaimonia.
Insight: Eudaimonia is not happiness in the sense of a positive emotion, but it is a moral concept relating to values. Seeking a life of pleasure (wealth, power, sex) is not eudaimonic, regardless of how that person feels.
Insight: Eudaimonia is about self growth and affecting the world in a positive way.
Reference: According to Aristotle and virtue ethics, humans should direct themselves towards virtuous behaviour as the purpose of life is to live in a eudaimonic way.
Definition: "Human flourishing" - the realisation of the best version of one's self.
Reference: Aristotle believed the Greek view that the highest human good is eudaimonia.
Reference: Aristotle did not agree with the hedonistic definition of happiness, the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, as championed by Epicurus and others around the 4th century BCE. He believed that living a virtuous life was linked to true happiness.
Reference: Daniel Kahneman: experienced happiness moulds our minds over time and is thus important to focus on.
Reference: Marty Seligman: experienced and reflective happiness are both key to truly flourish.
Insight: Eudaimonia is a response to the question "what is the best way to live?".
Insight: From Aristotle's perspective, happiness is a action more than it is a feeling. Therefore happiness is a skill.
Insight: Happiness from Aristotle's perspective requires reflection of whether one has lived up to their potential. A "good life" encompasses virtuous pursuits.
Insight: Experienced Happiness vs Reflective Happiness: Experienced happiness relates to our feelings - the hedonistic approach to happiness, through our System 1 fast brains; Reflective happiness is more in line with eudaimonia - the deeper sense of fulfilment that requires System 2 introspection.
Definition: Often translated as "happiness", "joy", or "human flourishing".
Insight: Eudaimonia is to live well in every sense by thriving, enjoying life, and living virtuously.
Insight: The Greeks believed that the best path to eudaimonia was "ataraxia" or "freedom from anxiety". This means to maintain an even keel, to never get too high or too low, to have control over ones emotions.
Reference: Montaigne had an audience of those fascinated by the question of how to live well and achieve eudaimonia in the face of suffering.
Reference: Montaigne believed in ataraxia or balance as the path to achieving eudaimonia.
Definition: Translated as "flourishing" or "success" rather than "happiness".
Insight: Happiness is not just a matter of how you feel, but a sense of achievement in life.
Insight: Happiness also depends partly on luck - external factors can have an impact on happiness.
Insight: Good habits are key, and easier to develop at an early age. Parenting is an important factor in our development of habits.
Reference: Aristotle believed in the best way to live was not about seeking pleasurable feelings, but living according to eudaimonia.
Reference: Aristotle believed that even events after your death could impact your eudaimonia - your children's future or your legacy for example.
Reference: Aristotle believed that we need to develop the right kind of character so that when events happen in life we can respond with the right emotions.
Reference: Aristotle believed that it is important to be political to achieve eudaimonia - humans need to be able to live in systems and interact with other humans in society.
Definition: The concept of "the good life" - embodies a virtuous life, and a happy one.
Insight: Eudaimonia is a response to the question "what is the best way to live?".
Insight: The definition of eudaimonia became a central concern of Greek moral philosophy.
Insight: Greek philosophers were interested in defining virtues appropriate to the state, which included eudaimonia: how should a society be organised to best allow people to live a "good life"..
Insight: The Cynics believed a good life to be in harmony with nature.
Insight: The Epicureans believed pleasure to be the greatest good.
Insight: The Stoics believed the good life meant accepting things beyond our control.
Definition: "Flourishing" according to Aristotle.
Reference: Aristotle believed that you could experience physical pleasures without reaching eudaimonia.
Reference: Aristotle believed that cultivating virtues through actions is the path to flourishing as a human.
Insight: Eudaimonia applies to the duration of one's life.
Insight: Virtues, according to Aristotle involves intelligent judgements about what actions to take based on the situation.
Definition: Flourishing.
Reference: Aristotle saw eudaimonia as the highest goal of human life.
Reference: Aristotle believed that pleasure was important to a good life, but more important is living in accordance with our nature as rational animals, growing our wisdom.
Insight: Taking a scientific approach to eudaimonia is dangerous. If we treat things as a means to an end (relationships for happiness for example), we risk devaluing them and not seeing them as an end in themselves.
Definition: "Flourishing" or "well-being".
Insight: The Greeks believed that the ultimate purpose of human activity is eudaimonia.
Insight: The question that needs to be asked is "What is the best way to live?".
Insight: Living virtuously is about habitually behaving appropriately by acquiring wisdom through training and experience.
Reference: Aristotle believed that the ability to reason and act rationally in line with virtues and moral excellence is in line with eudaimonia and the best way to live.
Definition: Well-being or living well.
Insight: Socratic philosophy treats eudaimonia as the final goal.
Insight: We tend to think of happiness as subjective. But eudaimonia has an objective aspect: it includes the judgement from outside of whether one is living a good or virtuous life.
Definition: "Flourishing" - meaning success, fulfilment, self-realisation, and material comfort.
Insight: Eudaimonia is a response to the question "what is the best way to live?".
Reference: Aristotle believed the Greek view that the highest human good is eudaimonia.
Reference: Aristotle believed that the fulfilment of human potential is within rational activity that conforms to virtue, or moral excellence.
Definition: Human flourishing.
Insight: Eudaimonia is pursued as an end, not the means to an end.
Insight: Eudaimonia is a conceptual truth about what it means to be human.
Insight: Eudaimonia is an activity, a way of living, and relates to the whole life of someone.
Definition: Happiness including pleasure, sense of well-being, and satisfaction.
Insight: Only rational agents can achieve eudaimonia according to Aristotle.
Definition: Human flourishing in what we do and how we live according to Aristotle.
Insight: A person that makes selfish choices or acts against their conscience (what they know to be right) will never be at peace.
Insight: The stoics and buddhists do not believe in "original sin" (that we all have fundamental flaws), they believe we are born good, and therefore that doing the "right thing" is akin to acting according to our nature.
Definition: Literal translation of "good spirit", meaning "human flourishing" or "life well lived".
Insight: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and even Epicurus (usually linked to pleasure) all believed that virtue was important in living a good life.
Reference: Athenian legislator Solon: one cannot say a person is happy until their life came to an end, as happiness means living up to one's potential.
Definition: Related to the highest good for humankind.
Insight: The "highest good" according to Aristotle must be something valuable in it's own right, rather than a means to an end.
Definition: The sense of fulfilment that arises from achieving one's full potential as a human.
Insight: The more eudaimonia you feel, the less likely you are to suffer from mood disorders.
Definition: A state in which you are achieving your full human potential.
Example: A building with the goal of creating space for people to flourish through enabling them to do their deepest work.
Key Insights & Principles
Personal Development & Living a Good Life
Achieving eudaimonia is about self growth and impacting the world in a positive way.
The Greeks and Montaigne believed in "ataraxia" or "freedom from anxiety", by keeping an even keel through control of one's emotions, as a path towards eudaimonia.
Most philosophers agree that happiness is a component of "living a good life". The main difference in the schools of philosophy on the path to eudaimonia relates to experienced happiness vs reflective happiness. The former generally relates to feelings of pleasure and the hedonistic approach to life championed by Epicurus, whereas reflective happiness relates to fulfilment and virtuous living that requires introspection and an objective, outside perspective of one's life in full.
According to Aristotle, living virtuously involves intelligent judgement about what actions to take relative to the situation one is in. This requires building wisdom through effort and experience.
Act according to your conscience and wisdom.
Focus on self growth and improvement.
Consider the impact you have on others and the world with each action you take.
Aim to preserve your emotional wellbeing and balance.
