Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia is a term used in philosophy that refers to a state of having a good indwelling spirit or being in a contented state of being healthy, happy and prosperous. In Aristotelian philosophy, Eudaimonia is used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it really is, and how it can be achieved.

Definition

The term is a Greek word, which in the Socratic dialogues of Plato, has a wide range of possible meanings, such as "endowed with the divine gift of a good spirit", "happy", "blessed", "flourishing", and "prosperous".

In Aristotelian Philosophy

In Aristotle's works, eudaimonia was used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider what it really is, and how it can be achieved.

Relation to Ethics and Morality

Eudaimonia in this sense is not a subjective, but an objective, state. It characterizes the well-lived life, irrespective of the emotional state of the person experiencing it. According to Aristotle, the most prominent exponent of eudaimonia in the Western philosophical tradition, eudaimonia is the proper goal of human life. It consists of exercising the characteristic human quality — reason — as the soul's most proper and nourishing activity.

See Also

• Ethics
• Philosophy
• Aristotle
• Socratic dialogues
• Plato

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  Head of Aristotle

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  The Death of Socrates (detail)

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  Plato and Aristotle in The School of Athens

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  Pyrrho in Thomas Stanley's History of Philosophy

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  Epicurus

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  Eudaimonia

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  Eudaimonic well-being