EUDEMONISM: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND REPRESENTATIVES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The eudaemonism is a melting pot of various ethical theories philosophical concept, which defends the idea that is valid any method used to obtain happiness. One of the defenders of these ideas, considered the main representative of this current, was the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

From the etymological point of view, eudemonism or eudaimonia comes from the Greek words eu ("good") and daimon ("spirit"). So, eudaimonia in its most basic concept can be understood as “what does good to the spirit”; that is to say, happiness or bliss. Recently it has also been interpreted as "human flourishing" or "prosperity".

Aristotle, defender of eudaemonism

To be located in the cultural, social and political context that surrounded the birth of this current of thought, it is necessary to go back in history to the time of the emergence of Western civilization, and more specifically that of the great Greek Empire.

It is estimated that philosophy appeared in Greece in the 6th century BC, and its main promoter was one of the so-called "7 wise men of philosophy": Thales of Miletus. Philosophy was born then by the interest of giving rational explanations to phenomena unknown to man or that, in any case, exceeded him.

In this context, eudaemonism became one of the many philosophical concepts that great thinkers of an era developed with the intention of giving meaning to existence, as well as explaining everything that surrounded them.

Origin

Greece in the 6th century BC was undoubtedly the cradle of many of the currents of thought that, throughout history, shaped the course of nations.

Thinkers of all kinds saw in classical Greece the ideal conditions to develop divergent and controversial theories, and with this the conditions were given for the so-called open debate and the confrontation of ideas.

Democritus, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, all of them philosophers of the time, suggested that the origin or starting point of philosophy is the human being's capacity for wonder. This capacity for admiration about his environment is what should lead him to analyze and want to ask questions that seek to get to the root of the matter.

In fact, the word "philosophy" -whose creation is attributed to Heraclitus and was used for the first time by Pythagoras when referring to it as a new science- comes from the Greek philia, which translates as love; and sophia, which means knowledge.

It is nothing else then that man's need to know, to know and to be able to explain his existence.

Ethics, a Greek word derived from ethos that translates “habit” or “custom”, was one of the disciplines of philosophy that in ancient Greece linked and tried to explain the way in which human beings developed within societies, as a conscious reflection of how that society was led.

From this discipline arose several theories that led to concepts or currents of thought such as eudaemonism.

characteristics

-His main goal is to achieve happiness.

-He defended that human happiness could and should consist in developing the use of reason to the maximum.

-He asked that living and acting under reason should be the highest trait sought by every human being.

-He warned that ceasing to live under reason and letting oneself be carried away by the passionate and visceral side of the human being does not generally lead to happiness and, on the contrary, leaves us susceptible to problems and complications.

-He explained that developing virtues such as ethics can be achieved and, in addition, promotes the habit. This habit refers to putting reins on excesses and, in general, learning to control the irrational part of being.

It can be said that from the deep and critical reflection of the moral environment of classical Greece, various ethical theories emerged that today can be described as a central element that has a large number of bifurcations. The essence of this central element, the basis of all theories, is based on "the good."

Ethical theories: intellectual context of eudaemonism

Being "the good" the starting point, it is possible to refer to something or someone as "good", but two versions of it could be identified.

In the first version, "what is good" is because it is indeed so, it means that being good is part of its essence and there is no possible doubt about it. This would be the first great branch that separates from the central trunk, which is called the cognitivist theory.

In the second version "good" is not necessarily good; In this case, the person who identifies "the good" only expresses a state of mind caused by the impression left on him by what he previously identified. This second major branch is non-cognitivist theory.

Following this same line of thought, teleology appears, which is the branch of ethics that analyzes in depth the final reason for the existence of something to someone.

This estimates that the universe marches with an achievement of endings that things tend to achieve, and not concatenated events of cause and effect.

Subdivisions above we will arrive at the ethical theories that defend that happiness is the ultimate goal that every human being seeks with any of the actions that he develops during his existence. It is then had that eudaemonism is presented as the mother theory that feeds on several others, namely:

Hedonism

It bases its foundations on obtaining pleasure that comes from sources considered good (within the moral debate of good and bad). In any case, achieving this happiness should not cause any discomfort to those who seek it during the process.

It is a current of thought that focuses on the individual, on individual pleasure and not on their environment. He manages to identify two ways to get pleasure: the tangible, the one that can be registered by the senses; and the spiritual.

Stoicism

In contrast to hedonism, Stoicism proclaimed 3 centuries BC that the pursuit of happiness was not in the material, it was not in the excessive pleasures.

According to the Stoicists, true happiness was in the rational control of facts, things and the intangible of being that in one way or another could disturb personal balance. Whoever manages to do so would reach the development of virtue and achieve full happiness.

Utilitarianism

This more recently developed theory is also considered eudaemonic because it certainly seeks and believes in the principle of "the greatest happiness."

In this particular case, the theory points out that "the good" is better the larger the group of people it benefits, and the more directly related to them its usefulness.

This theory ignores the human being as an entity isolated from its environment and recognizes the interaction of the being with its environment and with its peers, interaction from which happiness can arise.

Representatives

Among the most prominent representatives of eudaemonism, philosophers such as Socrates, Aristippus, Democritus and, of course, Aristotle, who is considered the father of this current, can be mentioned.

Aristotle had a productive life during which he was actively involved with many fields of science and human activities, thus being an important cultural reference of the time.

Born in Estariga, Greece, in 384 BC, he wrote no less than 200 treatises of various kinds; of them only about 30 survive to this day.

The education received during his youth - at the Academy of Athens at the hands of Plato - awakened in him the flame and the need to ask himself why things were the way they were and not any other.

Empiricist in spirit, he tried to support human knowledge based on experience. He deeply criticized the theories of his mentor and teacher Plato, thereby building his own philosophical system.

For Aristotle, all human actions pursue or have a single purpose: to be able to obtain happiness. It could be said that Aristotle's ethics was one of goods since, for him, the actions of the human being focused on obtaining a good, the highest good being happiness; with this, wisdom became.

Examples

There are many examples of eudaemonism in everyday life, and we could even identify the differences that make them become part of hedonistic, stoic or utilitarian thought:

-Tibetan monks praying and helping those most in need.

-Large companies or NGOs that provide their services at no cost in solving environmental problems.

-The teacher who dedicates his time to educate, without expecting to receive pay, in remote places that do not appear on the maps.

-That person who endures a hard moral blow without bowing; she is said to be a stoic person.

-Any person who controls their emotions in situations in which others would succumb; it is said that she is someone stoic.

-That person who seeks and finds pleasure in objects or actions that do not cause him any kind of discomfort or discomfort as a result of the pleasure achieved; this is a hedonistic person.

References

1. "Eudemonism" in Philosophy. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Philosophy: philosophia.org
2. "Eudemonism" in EcuRed. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from EcuRed: ecured.cu
3. "Eudemonism" in Definition. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Definition: definition.mx
4. "Eudaimonia" in Wikipedia. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
5. "Philosophy" in Wikipedia. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Wikipedia: wikipedia.org
6. "Ethical Theories" in Node 50. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Nodo 50: node50.org
7. "Eudaemonism" in Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on December 17, 2018 from Encyclopaedia Britannica: britannica.com