Plato's Allegory of the Cave examined the radical possibility that our understanding of reality may be based on only a limited number of shadows. The philosopher Plato, who was an idealist of sorts, asked the question What is real? His student Aristotle was concerned with the practical question of how one should live; his question was more immediate than Plato's. While Plato pointed toward the transcendent world of Forms, Aristotle focused on how we can live "well" or flourish as a human being in the physical world. His answer to the question of how to live is known as "Eudaimonia," and has been extremely influential throughout the history of Western thought.
Eudaimonia vs. Hedonia: The Great Divide
Eudaimonia is often translated as happiness, but this translation has the potential to confuse and mislead us. In contemporary society, happiness is often associated with pleasure, comfort, and positive feelings, which is a type of experience that can be described as hedonism. According to Aristotle, hedonism represents an ultimately empty and superficial lifestyle. A person who continually seeks after pleasure is leading a life that is unsuited to human being - it would be better suited to a life of a grazing animal.
In contrast, Eudaimonia, as Aristotle defined it, is a form of existence rather than an ephemeral state. The term Eudaimonia can be understood as "human flourishing" or the way humans can achieve a "good" life through living properly and being virtuous. Eudaimonia is an active pursuit of excellence in everything we do throughout our lives. The ultimate satisfaction of Eudaimonia is not found in feeling happy or in feeling satisfied; it is derived from fulfilling our potential as a human being. It defines who you are, not what you experience, and it describes your ability to excel and make meaningful contributions as a human being.
The Doctrine of the Mean: Virtue as the Middle Path
To reach Eudaimonia, what must be done? For Aristotle to attain Eudaimonia, it is to cultivate a virtuous character through Arete (Virtue). Virtue defines how we live our lives, not simply by adhering to rules but by developing a virtuous character that acts appropriately, at the appropriate time, for the right reasons. The key to a virtuous character is found in Aristotle's Doctrine of the Mean.
