Eudaimonia
An Aristotelian concept of human flourishing — not mere happiness, but the deep fulfillment that comes from living virtuously and realizing one's full potential.
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Origin
The word predates Aristotle — common Greek for "flourishing" — but Aristotle gave it its canonical philosophical definition in the Nicomachean Ethics (c. 349 BCE), arguing it was the highest human good: living through virtuous activity rather than mere pleasure or wealth. The compound derives from eu ("well") + daimon ("spirit"). Plato's earlier Republic (c. 375 BCE) had engaged the same concept, and Stoic and Epicurean philosophers later developed competing accounts of what genuine flourishing requires.
Updated February 22, 2026