It is that which all things aim. - For the good. / 1. It is an ancient Greek word which means living and doing well. - Eudaimonia. / 2. It is said to be the ultimate end of human action. It is pursued for its own sake. - Happiness./
As the highest human good, Aristotle assumes that eudaimonia is a state of perfect happiness. This may be true, but it does not follow that striving for eudaimonia makes us happy, or is the best way to live.
The particular goods are necessary to reach eudaimonia. For example, we need a certain amount of wealth to accumulate enough leisure time (time away from work) to contemplate what constitutes the good life. Aristotle concedes that to do things well is rare.
The psyche of a person in eudaimonia is ruled be theoretical reason, but eudaimonia is a concept distinct from the psyche, being neither a state nor an activity of the psyche. Eudaimonia is acquired through moral goodness, which is learned via habituation. Eudaimonia requires external goods.
For Aristotle, eudaimonia is the highest human good, the only human good that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end).
happinessEudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία [eu̯dai̯moníaː]; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, /juːdɪˈmoʊniə/) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'.
“…the most common elements in definitions of eudaimonia are growth, authenticity, meaning, and excellence. Together, these concepts provide a reasonable idea of what the majority of researchers mean by eudaimonia.” (Huta & Waterman, 2013: 1448).
Aristotle offers the proposition that Eudaimonia is “activity expressing virtue [1]. Eudaimonia is found by leading a virtuous life and doing what is worth doing. He believes that there is a supreme good in human life, that is, the ultimate goal that everyone pursues and that is Eudaimonia.
Antonyms: ill-being. Definition: lack of prosperity or happiness or health.
What can be said is that, unlike happiness, eudaimonia is not an emotion but a state of being, or even, especially for Aristotle, a state of doing. As such, it is more deep-rooted than happiness, and more stable and reliable.
Eudaimonic Happiness A eudaimonic approach, on the other hand, was the pursuit of personal fulfillment and a realizing of man's potential. Volunteering to help others, for example, would improve well-being because it is contributing to one's own community.
5 Strategies to Cultivate Eudaimonic HappinessDevelop a mindful attitude towards yourself (and the world) ... Accept yourself (your entire self) ... Live a purpose-driven life. ... Invest in skill mastery. ... Cultivate positive relationships.
The psyche does not account for the social bases of happiness. So the psyche in itself is not enough to achieve eudaimonia, but is essential for it. The ordering of the psyche is a necessary but insufficient condition. From here it can also be seen that eudaimonia is not an activity of the psyche.
Unlike our everyday concept of happiness, eudaimonia is not a state of mind, nor is it simply the experience of joys and pleasures. Moreover, happiness is a subjective concept. In other words, it is up to each of us to determine what it means, for us, to be happy.
Although it is difficult to deny eudaimonia as the highest human end when we follow Aristotle’s argument, because he tries to account for the goodness of the state he is forced to sacrifice a number of people to necessary work so that the elite may reach eudaimonia and perfect happiness.
He roughly equates eudaimonia with happiness, which he identifies with living or doing well. Eudaimonia is a first principle, therefore everything else we undertake we do for its sake. One interpretation could then be that eudaimonia is the cause of what is good. The particular goods are necessary to reach eudaimonia.
The rational part of our psyche is the important one in Aristotle’s assessment of what constitutes eudaimonia because it is strictly human (not common to all creatures, or shared with animals, but uniquely human).
Aristotle paints eudaimonia as the highest human end. That is, eudaimonia is the highest good being desirable for itself and not for the sake of some other good and makes all other goods desirable for its sake. His argument is as follows: (P1) There is a highest human good/end (eudaimonia) (P2) Every species has a uniqueness.
exemplify what it is to be human, that is, the one’s that flourish. (P9) Flourishing equates to living well/the good life. (C2) Living the good life consists in a lifetime of activity that actualises the virtues of. (P10) The good life / the highest human good / eudaimonia makes us happiest.
Eudaimonia is acquired through moral goodness, which is the result of habit. During a person’s formative years (childhood) they are schooled as to which actions are moral and good. Actions teachers and wise men (philosophers) judge good are praised and encouraged whilst immoral actions are blamed and censured.
There are three constituents to eudaimonia. Firstly, social bases of happiness; second, virtues of character (ethical excellences or personality traits) and third, virtues of intellect (judgments in exercising the virtues of character in certain situations).