The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle defined happiness as:
The exercise of the vital faculties, in the line of excellence, in a life that gives them scope.
Before we expand on that definition, let’s first talk about who Aristotle was.
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher. He was a student of Plato and a teacher of Alexander the Great.
That just makes for a pretty impressive resume!
He wrote on many subjects, including but not limited to physics, metaphysics, poetry, drama, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.
Put simply, when you put Aristotle together with his teacher, Plato, and Socrates (Plato’s teacher), the three form the basic foundation of much Western philosophical thought.
Aristotle is one of my heroes. While I don’t agree with everything he said, he definitely gives me a lot to think about.
One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately since listening to a series of lectures on Aristotle is the concept of Eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia and happiness are similar concepts.
Eudaimonia is a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous.
Eudaimonia is the exercise of the vital powers, in lines of excellence, in a life according to their reach.
Let’s define some of the key words and phrases in that statement.
To exercise is to put something into action, use, operation or effect. Something that is vital is a thing that belongs to or pertains to life, a thing that has remarkable energy, vivacity, or force of personality, something that is necessary for the existence, continuity, or well-being of something. Is essential. Is essential.
Power is the ability to do or act; ability to do or achieve something.
Obviously, Aristotle felt that it was important to act if we are to be truly alive. Just look at the words you plan to use.
Exercise means putting into action.
Vital means life, energy, existence.
Power represents the ability to act.
Aristotle was certainly a man who did not believe in sitting back and letting the world close in on him. He was proactive. He thing to go after the world.
That is what we must consciously choose to do.
If we really want to be happy, we must go after the world and not wait for it to come to us. We must take action.
The trick is to make sure the actions we take are appropriate to the circumstances and get us where we want to go.
