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 was discussed constantly by the Ancient Greeks; although, the word they used for the same feeling was Eudaimonia (Pronounced: yoo-die-MO-nee-a).
How Socrates saw it, all humans deeply desired Eudaimonia, but it could only be had through a devotion to …show more content…
He thought that specifically pride, wittiness, friendship, and honesty were how Eudaimonia could be best achieved. And to give another viewpoint Epicurus believed pleasure was the only true way to achieve Eudaimonia because it was the only thing that man valued for its own sake.
By now, you might begin to see a pattern, thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece they had the same problem we do today. Most people agreed on what true happiness was, but opinions and theories on how to attain it were debated constantly. Even today, some think money and possessions are the way while others focus on family, the more important thing is that we all value Eudaimonia.
In ancient Greece, most philosophers pretty much agreed on what Eudaimonia was, but theories on how to earn it varied wildly. One interesting take is from Epicurus; he believed that because pleasure was the only thing people valued for its own sake, expressing that receiving the most pleasure would lead to a life of Eudaimonia.
There weren’t any shortcuts to achieving Eudaimonia, it wasn’t something you felt, or received, it took devotion. Socrates thought that you could only attain it through “persistent” courage, self-control, and wisdom.
The most concise way I’ve seen to explain Eudaimonia is “leading a well-lived
“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 was discussed constantly by the Ancient Greeks; although, the word they used for the same feeling was Eudaimonia (Pronounced: yoo-die-MO-nee-a).
How Socrates saw it, all humans deeply desired Eudaimonia, but it could only be had through a devotion to …show more content…
He thought that specifically pride, wittiness, friendship, and honesty were how Eudaimonia could be best achieved. And to give another viewpoint Epicurus believed pleasure was the only true way to achieve Eudaimonia because it was the only thing that man valued for its own sake.
By now, you might begin to see a pattern, thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece they had the same problem we do today. Most people agreed on what true happiness was, but opinions and theories on how to attain it were debated constantly. Even today, some think money and possessions are the way while others focus on family, the more important thing is that we all value Eudaimonia.
In ancient Greece, most philosophers pretty much agreed on what Eudaimonia was, but theories on how to earn it varied wildly. One interesting take is from Epicurus; he believed that because pleasure was the only thing people valued for its own sake, expressing that receiving the most pleasure would lead to a life of Eudaimonia.
There weren’t any shortcuts to achieving Eudaimonia, it wasn’t something you felt, or received, it took devotion. Socrates thought that you could only attain it through “persistent” courage, self-control, and wisdom.
The most concise way I’ve seen to explain Eudaimonia is “leading a well-lived