In Stoicism, “Eudaimonia” refers to the state of happiness you reach if you’re living in accordance with reason and human nature. Here’s a bit more about it!
The Stock Horse and the Stable Cat is a now available to order from Stoic Simple Press, and it’s the first in a series of books called the Fables of Eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia (pronounced you-duh-mow-knee-uh) is a word that’s been around for thousands of years, and it’s a term you might come across when you read about Stoicism. It isn’t used much anymore, though, so most people don’t know what it means.
The Definition of Eudaimonia
Eudaimonia is an ancient Greek word that basically translates to “being happy,” but it goes a bit deeper than that. (In Greek the word is εὐδαιμονία, and it is sometimes also spelled “Eudemonia” or “Eudaemonia.”)
The philosopher Aristotle used the word Eudaimonia in his writings to refer to the greatest “goodness” that a person can attain. There’s a lot of slightly different meanings for the word depending on what sort of philosophy you’re reading about, though . . . so we’re only going to focus on what the Eudaimonia refers to in Stoicism.
Eudaimonia in Stoicism
For Stoics, Eudaimonia simply means the state of happiness you reach if you’re living in accordance with reason and human nature.
“Eudaimonia” doesn’t have any kind of supernatural meaning to Stoics, and it shouldn’t be confused with the words “heaven” or “paradise.” (It’s also not a “super-enlightened” state that some people think you can reach from meditation.)
The concept of Eudaimonia in Stoicism is a bit more down-to-earth than that. Stoics believe that reaching the state of “Eudaimonic happiness” is possible for anyone who thinks reasonably and lives according to human nature.
Simply put, that just means accepting stuff that isn’t outside of your control, embracing the fate that life has given you, and trying your best to make the world a better place for everyone.
And, of course, anyone who wants to discover Eudaimonia for themselves would do well to remember this quote from The Stock Horse and the Stable Cat:
“We get to decide for ourselves how things make us feel,” said the stock horse at last. “And THAT is good.”