Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia:
What is eudaimonia and how can it be developed?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

“ The ultimate end of human acts is eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it ” — Hannah Arendt

Eudaimonia is a Greek word translated literally from εὐδαιμονία, meaning "good spirit". While its translation may be simple, eudaimonia is a complex theory, which includes ideas and theories such as motivation and emotion theories, virtue ethics, positive psychology, and other similar philosophies.

Focus questions: What is eudaimonia? How is eudaimonia developed? What is the psychological relevance of eudaimonia?

What is eudaimonia?

Eudaimonia is the innate search for satisfaction and fulfilment in your daily life. It is focused on inward pleasant experiences, enjoying the moment in everyday life.

Origins

The term eudaimonia originated in Ancient Greece and was first proposed by Plato and Aristotle (see Figure 1), two philosophers in the Classical Period of Ancient Greece (Irwin, 1985). Aristotle's original definition of eudaimonia was "the most beautiful, virtuous and pleasant among all things" (Cheng & Ho, 2013, p. 2). This definition has been changed throughout time to have other meanings such as "happiness" and "flourishing" (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Currently, eudaimonia is considered the search for satisfaction in everyday life.

Figure 1 Plato (left) and Aristotle (right) in Raphael's painting "The School of Athens"

Aim

Eudaimonia aims to flourish, live a good life, and achieve fulfilment. The most important part of this search is to pursue inward pleasant experiences and enjoy the journey of life, rather than working towards a reward (Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008).

Eudaimonia is not the same as happiness. Aristotle distinguished between the two as happiness is experiencing pleasure, whereas eudaimonia is living well (Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008). As Aristotle said “Gluttons smacking greasy lips are happy, but not eudaimones" (Broadie, 2002).

How is eudaimonia developed?

Eudaimonia is a complex subject and it is difficult to pin down exactly how it is developed, but many psychological theories have given some hypotheses of the motivations behind this.

Motivations

The main idea of the motivation of eudaimonia explains something similar to intrinsic motivation (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). This is a concept within self-determination theory. The concept of intrinsic motivation is the motivation coming from within oneself to maximise an individual's subjective well-being (Waterman, Schwartz, & Conti, 2008). As the aim is to enjoy the moment in everyday life, it does not have any influence from outside sources and is self-driven.

Development

It is hard to know when one has achieved eudaimonia as it is not something that can be measured by numbers, it is more of a personal measure of well-being (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). There are many suggestions of the underlying actions one can do to achieve eudaimonia but, as it is so difficult to measure, there is little evidence of any specific actions one can do. Aristotle suggested that a key part of working towards eudaimonia was based upon making the right choices, in the way that acting virtuously and not being drawn towards possessions leads to better subjective well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). Having positive relations was also a popular suggestion as this, in a similar way to acting virtuously, made individuals more likely to reject possessions and enjoy the moment.

Satisfying the basic psychological needs was also a suggestion from some, not necessarily to achieve fulfilment, but as the very smallest action to work towards it (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). Also, personal growth was seen as a complimentary item, as personal growth can have an impact on the enjoyment of everyday life. This concept is based on the idea that having stability in one's life and their mental health can help an individual have better well-being (Huta, 2014; Ryff, 2014; Ryff & Singer, 2008).

Psychological relevance

Many psychological theories use concepts of or have similarities to eudaimonia. These include positive psychology, self-determination theory, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Many of these theories examine the similarities and differences between hedonia and eudaimonia.

Positive psychology

Positive psychology is the study of quality of life. The aim is to enjoy everyday life and live in the moment. This branch of psychology uses the concept of eudaimonia to work towards "the good life" . As Sirgy mentioned, it is important that individuals have positive mental health and healthy well-being to make it easier to achieve eudaimonia (Sirgy, 2019). Even though eudaimonia is a large part of this theory, hedonia is also discussed (Seligman, 2002). Although hedonia is a similar concept, hedonia is more about taking care of one's desires in the present, a self-care function (Huta, 2014). Hedonia gives one a sense of happiness but this happiness is seen as a more selfish happiness. It is about fulfilling personal wants rather than having a fulfilling life and enjoying the moment (Huta, 2014; Sirgy, 2019). This is why positive psychology is not completely accurate for eudaimonia (Woolfolk & Wasserman, 2005).

Self-determination theory

Self-determination theory includes intrinsic motivation, which is closely related to eudaimonia. This relation is due to the motivation towards the development of eudaimonia coming from within oneself (Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008). Self-determination theory proposes two kinds of motivation, extrinsic, an outwards / motivation given by the perception of other people, and intrinsic, an internal inherent motivation. This is a large part of the concept of eudaimonia as it has no influence from the people around an individual, it is about their own well-being and their fulfilment in life (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008).

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow put forward his theory of a hierarchy of needs (see Figure 2). The top of this hierarchy is self-actualization, which is seen as a self-fulfilment need. This need is to achieve one's full potential, similar to the eudaimonia aim to flourish in life. Unlike Maslow's hierarchy, however, eudaimonia is not something to work towards. Eudaimonia is instead fulfilling one's self-using intrinsic motivation, the motivation that comes from enjoying a practice in the moment, rather than focusing on the consequences (Seaborn, Pennefather, & Fels, 2015).

Figure 2. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Philosophical and cultural theories

In the philosophical world, there are many beliefs on how to achieve eudaimonia. Eastern philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have their own slightly different ways on how to achieve this. Many non-English speaking countries also have their own respective word for the concept of eudaimonia.

Eastern philosophies

The Eastern philosophies, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, each believe that there is a way to achieve eudaimonia (Cheng & Ho, 2013). In Confucianism, eudaimonia is simply translated to happiness and is about pursuing "supreme good" (Cheng & Ho, 2013; Wenzel, 2010). Taoism says that people will naturally feel "flavour" of eudaimonia by living with nature harmoniously (Cheng & Ho, 2013). The concept is that coexisting with the world and other people can bring satisfaction and individuals will always feel contented (Lu, 1998). Buddhism's view on eudaimonia is to diminish greed and eliminate self-consideration. All of these concepts are very similar and base their perspectives of eudaimonia on coexisting with others and the world and eliminating self-consideration. This is different to Eastern philosophies, such as Socrates' perspective, as there is more focus on making good choices and having personal growth.

Other languages

Other, non-English speaking countries, have words in their respective languages that are similar concepts to eudaimonia.

"Raison d'être" - translated as "reason to be", "reason for existence", "ultimate purpose" (France, Portugal, Holland).

Ikigai (生き甲斐) - translated as "reason for living", "something that gives someone purpose" (Japan), (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Ikigai dimensions venn diagram

Quiz

1 The aim of eudaimonia is to make as much money as you can:

	True
	False

2 It is difficult to measure eudaimonia:

	True
	False

3 The concept of eudaimonia is based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs:

	True
	False

4 Many philosophies and languages have a similar concept to eudaimonia:

	True
	False

Conclusion

Eudaimonia is a complex theory with the aim to flourish in life. It was first proposed by Aristotle but has grown and changed throughout time with many philosophies having their own views on it. The main aim behind achieving eudaimonia is intrinsic motivation. This motivation from within is used to help an individual use small actions to be fulfilled in oneself. Positive psychology considers eudaimonia as "the good life" and specifies that it is not the same as hedonia, a more selfish happiness. Self-determination theory highlights the importance of intrinsic motivation in the development of eudaimonia. Maslow's hierarchy looks at self-actualization, a similar theory to eudaimonia. Self-actualization however is something to work towards in the future, whereas eudaimonia is about being fulfilled in the present. In Eastern philosophies, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism have their own respective beliefs of what eudaimonia is and how it can be achieved. Confucianism sees eudaimonia as the "supreme good", Taoism focuses on living harmoniously with nature, and Buddhism's focus is to lower self-consideration. Many languages also have concepts that are similar to eudaimonia, with France, Portugal and Holland using "raison d'être" translated as "reason to be" and Japan using "Ikigai" translated as "reason for purpose". This concept has adapted since Aristotle first proposed it and is a concept seen all over the world.

See also

• Etymology of eudaimonia (Wiktionary)
• Eudaimonia (Book chapter, 2020)
• Happiness (Wikiversity)
• [w:Hannah_Arendt|Hannah Arendt] (Wikipedia)
• Man's search for meaning (Wikipedia)
• Positive psychology (Wikipedia)
• Self-actualization (Wikipedia)
• Stoicism (Wikipedia)
• Virtue ethics (Wikipedia)

References

Cheng, J.-C., & HO, M.-C. (2013). A research on eudaimonia perception of products. International Journal of Affective Engineering, 12(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.5057/ijae.12.385

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1-11. doi: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1 10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1

Huta, V. (2014). The Complementary Roles of Eudaimonia and Hedonia and How They Can Be Pursued in Practice. DOI 10.13140/2.1.3235.5207

Irwin, T. (1985). Nicomachean ethics (G. Fine Ed.). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.

Lu, L.: 1998, ‘The meaning, measure, and correlates of happiness among Chinese people’, Proceedings of the National Science Council: Part C 8, pp. 115–137.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

Ryan, R. M., Huta, V., & Deci, E. L. (2008). Living well: a self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 139-170. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9023-4

Ryff, C. D. (2013). Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10-28. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000353263

Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 13-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0

Seaborn, K., Pennefather, P., & Fels, D. I. (2015). Eudaimonia in Human Factors Research and Practice. DOI:10.5220/0005473003130318

Seligman, M. E. (2002). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy. Handbook of positive psychology, 2(2002), 3-12.

Sirgy, M. J. (2019). Positive balance: a hierarchical perspective of positive mental health. Quality of Life Research, 28(7), 1921-1930. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02145-5

Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2008). The Implications of Two Conceptions of Happiness (Hedonic Enjoyment and Eudaimonia) for the Understanding of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 41-79. doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9020-7

Wenzel, C. H. (2010). The Ethics of Confucius and Aristotle: Mirrors of Virtue. In: JSTOR.

Woolfolk, R. L., & Wasserman, R. H. (2005). Count No One Happy: Eudaimonia and Positive Psychology. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 25(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0091252

External links

• A recipe for eudaimonia (Tedx talks, J Kannaiyan)
• Aristotle on flourishing (BBC4, YouTube)
• Eudaimonia divining rod (psi-chology)
• Eudaimonia machine (David Dewane, the wall street journal)
• Eudaimonia to flourish (Unitec institute of technology)
• How to live a great life (Crash course, YouTube)
• Stoic ethics (Internet encyclopedia of physiology)