Below we answer a variety of frequently asked questions relating to the word Eudaimonic.
What does Eudaimonic mean?
Eudaimonic is an ancient Greek word, of, or relating to, eudaimonia.
The literal translation of Eudaimonia is “having a good guiding spirit” and it is the word that describes the concept of the highest human good (a life well-lived). Its closest alternative meanings in English are happiness, fulfilment, and human flourishing.
It is the fulfilment, or human flourishing, achieved by living a virtuous life and constantly striving for self-realisation (to harness your unique set of potentials and be your best, authentic self), which brings with it meaning and purpose.
What is the difference between hedonic and Eudaimonic?
Both hedonic and Eudaimonic relate to philosophies of life. Hedonic is to do with pleasure whilst Eudaimonic is to do with fulfilment. See below for further differences:
Eudaimonic
Eudaimonic is of, or relating to, eudaimonia – the ancient Greek word describing the highest good that humans can strive for in life. It is the fulfilment, or human flourishing, achieved by living a virtuous life and constantly striving for self-realisation (to harness your unique set of potentials and be your best, authentic self), which brings with it meaning and purpose. This involves meaningful activities that require thought and effort.
The origin of Eudaimonic philosophy
Eudaimonic philosophy began with Socrates in the fifth century BC, passed on to his pupil Plato, also in the fifth century BC, who passed it on in turn to his pupil Aristotle in the fourth century BC. Modern Eudaimonic philosophy tends to stem from the works of Aristotle.
Hedonic
Hedonic on the other hand is of, or relating to, hedonism. This is where the goal in life is to maximise pleasure and avoid pain. This involves fleeting pleasures (or little pick-me-ups) that require little effort.
The origin of hedonic philosophy
The earliest known record of hedonic philosophy is in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from ancient Mesopotamia in the 12th century BC, when Siduri said: “Fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man.”
The philosophy of ethical hedonism tends to stem from the works of Aristippus of Cyrene, in the fifth century BC; a pupil of Socrates who adopted the quite different philosophical outlook from that of his teacher.
Both eudaimonia and hedonism are necessary to maximise feelings of well-being
As they both contribute to well-being in separate ways, both Eudaimonic and hedonic activities are necessary to maximise feelings of well-being. For example, a simple hedonic activity like listening to a favourite song can give you a quick boost when you are feeling sad. This requires less effort than you would need to engage in a Eudaimonic activity. Eudaimonic activities, however, bring meaning and purpose to your life, giving you a greater sense of fulfilment over time.
Resilience is a key factor in well-being
A key factor to feelings of well-being, from either Eudaimonic or hedonic activities, is resilience. This is your ability to face and overcome adversity (i.e., cope with exceedingly difficult or unfavourable situations) adaptively (through implementing adaptation strategies to cope. Adaption strategies typically involve conscious and direct approaches to dealing with situations rather than unconsciously reacting to situations with defence mechanisms. It is important to note that resilience does not take the stress away, but instead helps you to cope with the stress more positively). Adaption strategies therefore enable individuals to transform critical experiences into opportunities for personal growth.
Resilience is important to both life meaning and having an authentic sense of your own life and the wonderful thing about resilience is that you can learn it. It is vitally important therefore that you give focus to specific training that builds resilience, notably in children and adolescents, as this will promote their health and well-being into adulthood, preventing and reducing the severity of mental health problems.
Activities like playing musical chairs, for example, can be a great start to building resilience in children. It teaches them that sometimes they will be the odd one out and that’s ok. By talking about it at the end of a game, children get the chance to express what they have internalised and learn how to cope with how they felt, protecting them against psychological distress in future situations where they are the odd one.
The benefits of Eudaimonic and hedonic activities
Eudaimonic activities:
- are associated with higher life satisfaction
- lead to a greater sense of meaning in life
- lead to more experiences of elevation
Hedonic activities:
- temporarily increase life satisfaction
- help regulate emotions
- reduce stress and depression
The outcomes of Eudaimonic and hedonic activities over time
Eudaimonic activities create meaningful experiences that become more effective at evoking happiness over time.
Hedonic activities create experiences that offer a spike in pleasure and enjoyment, but the novelty soon wears off, and the activities become less effective at evoking happiness over time.
This illustrates why we recommend both types of activities to maximise your overall well-being.
What is an example of Eudaimonic?
Eudaimonia is the word that describes the concept of the highest human good and encompasses both living well and doing well. To both live well and do well, certain Eudaimonic activities are necessary. These are activities that require thought and effort. Feelings such as happiness, well-being and fulfilment are all by-products of participating in these types of activities, and these feelings get stronger and deeper over time.
Examples of Eudaimonic activities are below, along with hedonic activities for comparison. Hedonic activities require little exertion and generate short bursts of feelings of pleasure but become less effective at doing so over time.
To support your well-being, all activities, whether Eudaimonic or hedonic, should align with our guiding rules and values, as well as with your own additional values.
Examples of Eudaimonic activities:
- engaging in meaningful hobbies like arts and sports
- pursuing a passion or gift, for example, by being an artist, a musician, a scholar, a craftsman, an athlete, an explorer, or suchlike
- constantly growing in your craft, pushing the boundaries and being the best at it that you can be
- gaining self-sustainability
- trying new things for continuous personal growth
- finding ways of applying your unique set of potentials for the benefit of others
- volunteering
Examples of hedonic activities:
- going to a party
- eating comfort food
- binge-watching shows/movies
- eating dessert
- having sex
- gorging on an all-you-can-eat-buffet
- gaming
- listening to a favourite song
- watching sports
- seeing a beautiful sunset
- doing a word search puzzle
- playing in fallen leaves
- cuddling the dog
How do you identify a Eudaimonic person?
A Eudaimonic person is portrayable as having personal authenticity, living by our guiding rules and values as well as by their own additional values and pursuing their potential with meaning and purpose.
It is important to note that eudaimonia is a life well-lived. This is irrespective of the person’s emotional state (i.e., whether they “feel” happy or not) while they are living it. So, do not expect to identify a Eudaimonic person by their endless smile. Instead look for somebody purpose-driven, continuously developing, virtuous, living their values and exercising self-care.
Identifying a hedonic person
In contrast, a hedonic person is portrayable as outgoing, social, and seeking pleasure and enjoyment.
Our guiding rules are especially important to ensure that in achieving their own pleasure the hedonic person does not knowingly cause others pain.
What is an example of Eudaimonic happiness?
Happiness is hard to define due to its subjective nature. What makes you feel happy? How long does it last? Is it the same each time? Do things that make me happy also make you happy? Eudaimonia however is to do with living well and doing well. The two key aspects of it are having purpose and meaning in life. By-products of having purpose and meaning are feelings of fulfilment and happiness. Eudaimonic happiness therefore comes from a purpose-driven and meaningful life.
An illustration of how happiness and Eudaimonia differ
You must give a presentation at Work but are extremely nervous. Accordingly, you Learn as much as you can about the subject and Prepare your script and your slide-deck. You listen to Talks, both on the subject matter and on presentation delivery and how to calm your nerves. You feel anything but happy in the lead up to the presentation. However, the day of the presentation arrives, and you deliver it very well. The other attendees receive your message positively, elevating your profile within your organisation. This brings you a sense of relief, achievement, and happiness. You receive further opportunities to Learn, gain experience in your field and progress, making you feel happy and fulfilled. Your Eudaimonia increases as you are doing well.
If you only participated in activities that made you feel happy (or that were hedonic i.e., pleasurable, or enjoyable), you would have stopped as soon as you felt nervous. You would not have felt the elation of successfully presenting to your peers and being well-received. Neither would you have furthered your career with the new opportunities that stemmed from your successful presentation. All things that brought you a sense of fulfilment. You would have taken the easy road instead of continuing with purpose and seizing the opportunity to gain experience.
Happiness depends on our outlook
But what if you did not feel nervous at the prospect of giving a presentation? What if researching your subject matter and standing up in front of your peers made you feel happy. But your presentation was not well-received. Your status at the company diminished because of the consensus that you gave a mediocre performance. Your Eudaimonia will have diminished as you are not doing as well.
However, you may still feel happy with yourself regardless. You may simply tell yourself that you were just pitching to the wrong crowd or that the subject matter is the issue. Consequently, you may decide to look for a role at a company that is a better fit for your unique set of potentials and provides you with more meaningful Work. You may seek feedback from your peers. Understanding why your performance was not well-received may help you to do better next time. Or you may feel dejected after the response to your performance. You may put up a wall as a defence mechanism, for example, by deciding never to present again. The decrease to your Eudaimonia would be definite. However, your happiness level would be subjective depending on how you chose to view the situation.
Resilience leads to better outcomes
It is worth noting here that a resilient response (i.e., dusting yourself off, objectively reviewing the experience, learning the lessons, and moving on) when you are not doing so well (in this case, to giving a poor presentation) is sure to see your Eudaimonia increase again in no time. This is because you will make better decisions going forward, having learnt from your experience.
This illustrates why you can only really determine whether you achieved Eudaimonia at the end of your life. You will need trial and error before you find your niche. This may result in you not appearing to do so well in the short-term. However, these learnings are what will help you to do well in the long-term. The most important thing is that you keep pushing forwards with purpose as you Practice Eudaimonic Well-being each day.
