Eudaemonist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who believes that happiness or human flourishing is the highest good and the proper aim of ethical conduct
2. a philosopher who holds that human flourishing and well-being constitute the ultimate moral good and foundation for all ethical decision-making
3. one who advocates that the pursuit of genuine happiness and personal fulfillment serves as the supreme ethical principle guiding human behavior

Etymology: The Greek "eudaimonia" literally meant something like "having a good spirit," from "eu" (well) and "daimon" (a divine power or guardian spirit). The Greeks did not use "daimon" in the later sense of a demon. Happiness was thought of as a blessing from a favorable spirit, so a fortunate life was one watched over by a good one. Aristotle made the term central to his ethics, treating it as the highest good that people pursue for its own sake. From this root came the English "eudaemonism," the view that happiness is the foundation of morality, and then "eudaemonist," the name for someone who holds that view. The "-ist" ending marks an adherent of a doctrine, so the word refers to a follower of a theory about happiness rather than to a cheerful person in general.