Eudaimonia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition of profound human flourishing attained by living virtuously and realizing one's fullest capacities through rational excellence
2. The highest human good achieved when someone fulfills their potential by cultivating virtue and acting in accordance with reason
3. A state of achieving true fulfillment and well-being through virtuous living and rational activity

Etymology: Aristotle's ethics turned on a word that, literally, meant "good spirits." In ancient Greek, "eudaimonia" was formed from "eu," meaning "good" or "well," and "daimōn," a word for a spirit or divine power that could govern a person's fortune. The idea was that a person's luck or condition depended on the spirit attending them, so being favored by a good one meant living well. The Greek word was not originally a term of moral philosophy at all; it described a state of being blessed. Philosophers gradually shifted it toward a question about how to live. Aristotle used it in his ethical writings to name the highest human good, the aim all other pursuits serve, and he understood it as active excellence over a complete life rather than a passing feeling of pleasure. English took the word directly from Ancient Greek as a learned borrowing, so its sense stayed close to Aristotle's, and "flourishing" is the translation most modern philosophers prefer.

Synonyms: happiness, flourishing, well-being, prosperity, contentment

Antonyms: misery, unhappiness, suffering, distress, discontent