Life Hacks: Eudaimonia

Is happiness enough for a good life? And are pleasure and happiness the same thing? What is so special with pursuing eudaimonia?

Eudaimonia means good (‘eu’) spirit (‘daimon’). This is the outcome of a life lived well. Talents, passions, skills, and time are applied to a meaningful purpose that brings us a feeling of fulfilment and joy. It is living according to one’s best version of oneself.

Eudaimonia (pronounced you-dai-moan-ya) is a Greek concept which has been explored by many philosophers. Modern psychologists still study its true meaning for the modern world. By saying that eudaimonia is mere happiness, we are missing its true essence which is more than that. In general, it is the ability to live a life of prosperity, to flourish and to discover personal fulfilment regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.

In her book The Life of the Mind, Hannah Arendt says that: “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.”

In his many works, Aristotle has provided numerous interpretations of eudaimonia, explaining it as something reflecting the pursuit of...