202206050810 Eudaimonia
Ancient Greek word that can be translated as “Happiness” or “right living” or (my personal favorite) “flourishing”.
The term is important because of its use in 202206050754 Aristotle‘s 202206050755 Virtue ethics as the telos (or end purpose) of a person.
A critical distinction to make here is that this “happiness” is distinct from “pleasure”. As Michael Schur puts it,
It’s hard for me to imagine a greater happiness than watching a basketball game eating a sleeve of Nutter Butters, but am I flourishing when I do that? Is that my maximum possible level of fulfillment?1
So we must remember that we’re talking about the kind of happiness that must involve rational thought and virtues of character, not just what feels good in the moment.
It’s a sense of completeness that flows through us when we are nailing every aspect of being human.1