Eudaimonia

Aristotle said Eudaimonia is the excellent performance of the human ergon. Eudaimonia is roughly translated as happiness from Greek, but it is more than fleeting psychological gratification, which is today’s cultural understanding of happiness. Aristotle used Eudaimonia to describe human flourishing. Ergon, translated from Greek, means function. This function involves both what something does and how it does it. Spoons and forks both help us eat, but they do it in different ways. It would be extremely difficult to eat soup with a fork. Because they have different methods, they have different ergons. Aristotle believed the human ergon was more than the sum of the ergons of the body. The heart’s ergon is to pump blood, the spine’s ergon is to keep the body upright, etc. Living is the sum of these ergons. Aristotle believed the human ergon was more than life and could be found in how people live. Aristotle argued the human ergon is related to what is uniquely human. Human uniqueness cannot be biological. Every DNA strand, regardless of species, is composed of the same four nucleotides. He concluded the distinction between humans and animals was the human ability to…

Ethics Aristotle has an inner debate over this question creating many theories, but he ultimately comes to the conclusion that Eudaimonia is a goal that all humans should aim for. The best way to achieve this goal is through the characters of virtue. Eudaimonia is thought to mean happiness, but in this case it means to thrive or to flourish and it can be accomplished when a person attains happiness or success in all aspects of their life. During Aristotle’s lifetime all people are implied to be…

Throughout the immortal work Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle profusely argues that Eudaimonia, happiness, is the ultimate good. This inspiring claim, which insists that the status quo is one where mankind is striving to attain the pinnacle of excellence through the utilization/ actions of virtues and righteousness, posit that human beings can live a more satisfying life by pondering, and eventually understanding, their surrounding world, and along with it, the purpose of their existence. This…

Dr. Magada-Ward Philosophy 1030 4 November 2017 Essay 2 Set forth and discuss the constituents of eudaimonia. Do you agree with Aristotle’s list and his weighting? Why or why not? Furthermore, do you believe that it is possible for us, now, to achieve eudaimonia? In the Ethics, Aristotle contemplates four primary topics-the definitions of virtues and vices, humanity's unique ability to deliberate and choose, how ethics relates to human action, and the point of human striving. Arguably, his…

Virtue, or that which is often considered “ethical” in quality or nature of character, has continually evolved since its early conception. Yet it continues to be a recurring issue in modern philosophical discourse due to it’s correlation with the idea of “morality”. Society holds us accountable to live by honorable and “moral” standards, for if you were to renounce a life of morality you would be deemed an outcast or shunned from society. However, one cannot live a “moral” lifestyle without…

In the article, “Happiness and Eudaimonia”, the text tackles one of the most fundamental questions that virtually everyone in this universe has grappled with, what defines a happy life, versus a good life? (Happiness and Eudaimonia). However, the true meaning of “a happy life” cannot be precisely determined, for it usually means different things to different people at different points in their lives. Personally, for example, I think that I have a “happy life” at the time’s when I finally get…

In our fast-paced world, everyone is looking for shortcuts to get faster results. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of gaining happiness, we look for pleasure; the short-term solution for happiness. In this paper, I refute the statement that pleasure is the highest means in a good life, but instead, it is Eudaimonia. Eudaimonia translates to happiness that is achieved when we have reached our well-being at its full potential. While Eudaimonia gives a deeper sense in meaning, pleasure is good to…

It’s safe to assume that most people strive to be happy in their life. Individual happiness can be defined in a number of ways, for many people wealth is the answer to becoming happy while others may view health as an important component to happiness. Seneca, a wealthy and notable philosopher during the Roman Imperial period, does not consider wealth nor health as essential to our own happiness. Instead, he regards virtue alone as being sufficient for happiness (Vogt 2016). Aristotle, on the…

EUDAIMONIA: Happiness In Ancient Greece “The ultimate end of human acts is Eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.” – Hannah Arendt When you hear someone say they want to be happy, what do they mean? Rather than the colloquial use of the word, true happiness is regarded as something much higher and respected universally as one of the few goals in life we should strive for. This desire for self-satisfaction…

In engineering, there are several necessary virtues or excellences needed to flourish in their respective fields. This paper will highlight Aristotle’s understanding of eudaimonia (happiness), arête (virtue), and telos (a final cause or end). Aristotle also makes a distinction between two types of virtues, thought and character. Expanding upon these two, the virtue of thought is described to be about wisdom, comprehension, and intelligence. Whereas, the virtue of character is said to be about…