Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia, in ancient Greek philosophy, refers to the state of a fully successful life. It is often translated as “happiness,” but this rendering is insufficient: eudaimonia does not refer to a fleeting pleasure or an emotional state, but to a way of living that is in accordance with what one fundamentally is.

Etymologically, εὐδαιμονία means “being accompanied by a good daimon,” that is, living under a favorable inner principle. It points to an ordered, coherent, and fulfilled existence, rather than to simple subjective satisfaction.

In Aristotle, eudaimonia is the highest good of human life. It consists in an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, sustained over an entire lifetime. It therefore does not depend on isolated moments, but on an overall trajectory in which actions, choices, and character form a coherent whole.

The Stoics take up the term but profoundly transform its meaning. For them, eudaimonia lies exclusively in virtue—that is, in the correctness of judgment and the agreement of reason with nature. It does not depend on health, wealth, or social recognition, which are external and indifferent things. A life can be eudaimôn even amid adversity, as long as it remains in accordance with reason.

Understood in this way, eudaimonia is not a state to be pursued directly, but the result of a well-lived life. It is not chased as an emotional goal; it manifests as the stability and coherence of an existence that does not contradict itself.

Across ancient philosophy as a whole, eudaimonia thus designates less the fact of “being happy” than that of living rightly, lucidly, and fully, according to what is proper to human beings.