"Eudaimonia"

One aspect of Aristotle we discussed in class on Wednesday is Aristotle’s use of the word eudaimonia. We defined this Greek word as happiness. When most of us think of the definition of happiness, I think we think of something that, quite literally, makes us happy. Keep in mind this type of “happiness” is going to be different for everyone. For me, happiness is a warm day on a boat off the coast of Costa Rica or coming home to my tail wagging Australian Shepherds. For someone else, happiness might be a good book or a shopping trip in Paris. However, I don’t think this is the type of happiness Aristotle is talking about.  Dictionary.com defines eudaimonia as a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eudaimonia.) I don’t even think this definition does it justice. The happiness, I believe, Aristotle is writing about is the final happiness. The happiness one spends their entire lives working towards, the happiness that means so much more than a vacation or good book.

In class on Wednesday, I think everyone tried really hard to define eudaimonia, when in reality it’s different for everyone. Everyone’s definition of “living well” is different. Today, as with every other philosophy class, I found myself looking for an answer. What am I not thinking of? What am I missing? Am I misunderstanding the material? The answer can be so many different things and what you decide is your “happiness” is how you can define it.