[PDF] eudaimonia is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue

What is eudaimonia for Aristotle?

In outline, for Aristotle, eudaimonia involves activity, exhibiting virtue ( aret? sometimes translated as excellence) in accordance with reason.

What is the difference between eudaimonia and virtue?

Rather, eudaimonia is what we achieve (assuming that we aren't particularly unfortunate in the possession of external goods) when we live according to the requirements of reason. Virtue is the largest constituent in a eudaimon life. By contrast, Epicurus holds that virtue is the means to achieve happiness.

What does eudaimonia mean?

So, eudaimonia corresponds to the idea of having an objectively good or desirable life, to some extent independently of whether one knows that certain things exist or not. It includes conscious experiences of well-being, success, and failure, but also a whole lot more. (See Aristotle's discussion: Nicomachean Ethics, book 1.10–1.11.)

Is the eudaimon life morally virtuous?

The Stoics make a radical claim that the eudaimon life is the morally virtuous life. Moral virtue is good, and moral vice is bad, and everything else, such as health, honour and riches, are merely "neutral".