eudaimonia

εὐδαιμονία

Pronunciation

yoo-duh-MOH-nee-uh (juːdəˈmoʊniə)

Definition

The state of living well. The final end (telos) of human life. Consisting in the perfection of the rational soul through virtue. It is self-sufficient (autarkeia) and cannot be affected by external circumstances. It is realized by living in agreement with nature (kata physin), that is, in accordance with reason and the divine Logos.

Deep Dive

eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία), “flourishing” or “well-being,” is the telos of rational life (Diogenes Laertius 7.87–88). It is defined as living in agreement with nature (homologoumenōs tē physei zēn) (DL 7.87), where “nature” is understood by two parts. First, the rational and social nature proper to human beings (Epictetus, Discourses 1.6.9). Second, the providential, rational order of the cosmos as a whole (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.40). In practical terms, eudaimonia is not a mood or subjective feeling but a stable condition of the rational faculty (hegemonikon) in which thought, desire, and action cohere under right reason (orthos logos) and align with the structure of the universe (Epictetus, Discourses 3.24.40). The constituent of eudaimonia is virtue (aretē) alone (DL 7.94). Unlike Aristotelian ethics, which takes happiness to require some measure of external goods, the Stoics insist that virtue is both necessary and sufficient for flourishing (Epictetus, Discourses 1.29.1). Externals such as health, wealth, and reputation are “indifferents” (adiaphora). Some of them may carry selective value (proēgmena, “preferred indifferents”), but they possess no moral worth (DL 7.101). Their presence or absence cannot alter eudaimonia itself, since they merely supply the material on which virtue acts in the performance of duties (kathēkonta) (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.32). The phenomenological expression of this state is the “smooth flow of life” (euroia biou) (DL 7.88), in which impulses (hormai), assents (synkatatheseis), and actions proceed consistently. Being free from irrational passions (pathē), and guided by reason (Epictetus, Discourses 1.4.23). The sage is not without feeling but experiences rational “good emotions” (eupatheiai) such as joy (chara), wish (boulēsis), and caution (eulabeia). In contrast to the destructive passions (DL 7.116). In this way eudaimonia represents both the inner unity of the self, without conflict between judgement and desire, and harmony with the cosmos itself. It is achieved through alignment with the logos that orders all things (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.55).

The practical role of eudaimonia is to serve as the orienting principle of deliberation, the criterion of resilience, and the basis of social life. It provides the standard by which every choice is judged. Not whether it brings pleasure or success, but whether it expresses virtue in accordance with reason and nature (Epictetus, Discourses 1.1.7). Because it depends solely on virtue, eudaimonia is immune to fortune; poverty, illness, or exile may restrict action but cannot impair rational coherence (Epictetus, Discourses 1.6.1–2). In addition, through the process of oikeiōsis (appropriation), eudaimonia entails recognition of kinship (syngeneia) with all rational beings (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.4), grounding duties of justice and cosmopolitan responsibility (Epictetus, Discourses 1.23.1–4). Thus the flourishing life is necessarily both rational and social, ordered to the common good as well as to personal integrity.

eudaimonia is the end of life. This being a condition of the rational faculty in which a person lives coherently within themselves and in harmony with the rational structure of the cosmos. It exists only in virtue. It employs indifferents as the matter of appropriate action, manifests as the smooth flow of life. It is marked by freedom from passions and with the presence of rational good emotions. Its practical purpose is to provide a resilient and universal standard of deliberation and conduct. This will ensure that individual flourishing is inseparable from justice, cosmopolitan duty, and the common good.

Related Quotations

“They say that the end (telos) is to live in agreement with nature, which is living in accordance with virtue.” - Diogenes Laertius 7.87–88 (Hicks, Loeb)

“But if you ask me what is man’s nature, I shall answer: that he is a rational and mortal being.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.6.9 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“All that is in accord with you, O Universe, is in accord with me.” - Marcus Aurelius 4.40 (Haines, Loeb)

“When your ruling faculty (hegemonikon) is in harmony with nature, then you will be free from distress.” - Epictetus, Discourses 3.24.40 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“Virtue is sufficient in itself for happiness.” -Diogenes Laertius 7.94 (Hicks, Loeb)

“No man is free who is not master of himself… no man is happy unless he is free.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.29.1 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“Health, wealth, and the like are not goods, but indifferents, some to be preferred, others rejected.” - Diogenes Laertius 7.101 (Hicks, Loeb)

“The things that befall you are raw material for virtue to act upon.” - Marcus Aurelius 6.32 (Haines, Loeb)

“The end is the smooth flow of life (euroia biou), when all actions are in harmony with nature.” - Diogenes Laertius 7.88 (Hicks, Loeb)

“If you act consistently with nature, your life will flow smoothly.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.4.23 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“Constantly think of the universe as one living being… in agreement with its own nature.” - Marcus Aurelius 7.55 (Haines, Loeb)

“Good emotions are joy, caution, and wishing; passions are irrational and excessive.” - Diogenes Laertius 7.116 (Hicks, Loeb)

“Of things some are up to us, some are not… if you suppose that only what is up to you is good and what is not up to you is nothing to you, then no one will ever compel or hinder you.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.1.7 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“If you remember that man is not made for himself alone, but also for his country and his family… you will bear exile, sickness, and death with equanimity.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.6.1–2 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“We are born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids.” - Marcus Aurelius 4.4 (Haines, Loeb)

“Man is by nature a social being; it is not for himself alone that he is born, but for the world.” - Epictetus, Discourses 1.23.1–4 (Oldfather, Loeb)

“What does not make a man worse than he was, or hinder him from acting in accordance with reason, does not harm him either.” - Marcus Aurelius 6.42 (Haines, Loeb)

“The end is to live in agreement with nature… this is the same as virtue and harmony in life.” - Diogenes Laertius 7.88–89 (Hicks, Loeb)