HAPPINESS

• According to HEDONISM, pleasure is the most valuable pursuit of

mankind and everything that one does is to gain pleasure;
• Aristippus, a Greek philosopher was convinced that life’s objective
is to experience maximum pleasure (positive emotion) and
minimize pain (negative emotion)
• Epicurus, the Greek philosopher, says that pleasures should not be
overflowing but enough, thus excesses cause suffering, that for
achieving happiness, we must find inner peace through a quiet life.
• For the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, happiness is more
than a desire, joy, or choice. It is a duty. collectively there should be
formal rules, so no one hurts others in their pursuit of happiness.
 EUDAIMONIA
• Well-being; happiness; a life well-lived; human flourishing

• Ancient Greeks called this concept of “living well and doing well” as EUDAIMONIA

eu : good or well daimon: spirit

 EUDAIMONIA
• In Philosophy, eudaimonism is pursuing the right actions that lead to one’s
“well-being”
• Ancient Greek philosophers developed normative ethical theories called
“virtue ethics” that emphasize the virtues of the mind and character.
• To them virtues are linked to the concept of “arete”, meaning “excellence” of
any kind that is necessary in order for one individual to flourish and attain
good life
 Socrates believed that happiness is based on leading a life of virtue; virtue
is a form of knowledge (knowledge of good or evil) that is needed to
achieve the ultimate good all humans desire
 Plato believed that individuals naturally feel unhappiness when they do
something they know and acknowledge to be wrong , that even "evil" people
feel guilt at doing something which is clearly wrong, and, even when there
is no fear of punishment, doing what is wrong simply makes
people miserable. 
 Plato claimed that the mind must govern the spirit, emotions, and physical
desires to attain eudaimonia
 Eudaimonia, according to Plato, was the highest and ultimate aim of both
moral thought and behavior.
 According to Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics,
 Happiness is the be all and end all of everything that we do
 Aristotle stated that happiness is conditional for it is dependent on other
conditions; the individual’s worldly conditions are important in pursuit of
eudaimonia
 For Aristotle, being part of a community is needed for an individual to flourish as
a human being, meaning friendship, a mutual admiration between two persons is a
contributing factor in attaining eudaimonia.
 Eudaimonia focuses on the ‘doing good’ aspect of happiness.
 Eudaimonia focuses on the “pursuit of virtue (making the right choices),
excellence, and the best within us” 
• The Stoics perceived virtue on morality, they believed that eudaimonia is the highest good
and is achieved by living in harmony with nature; to generate happiness, one must learn to
distance oneself and be apathetic
• From a Christian perspective, St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas Aquinas proposed
that eudaimonia or human flourishing requires to have knowledge of God or complete
blessedness
• John Locke (philosopher & political theorist in the 17th century) stressed that happiness is
pursued through prudence
• In the Old Testament eudaimonia is described by the word shalom which means peace,
harmony, and completeness, trusting the word and plan of God that he has already set from
the beginning of creation.
• In the New Testament is it is captured through the Beatitudes, Blessed are
they…. Or Happy are they ….from the Greek word “makarios” , it connotes
happiness, joy, peace of mind, and the good life
• It is defined as a contented state of being happy, healthy, and
prosperous
• It is also understood as the effort to attain self-discovery and
fulfillment within a setting of society, each with the right to pursue his
or her own efforts to achieve such state
• In socio-psychological perspective, according to Carol Ryff , psychology professor,
there are 6 components of well-being

Self-
acceptance

Personal
autonomy
growth

Psychological
well-being

Purpose in Environment
life al mastery

Positive
relationship
 THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN FLOURISHING

• In order to come up with technological innovations, humanity has taken

control of the environment to take advantage of its natural resources.
• Modernization advances science, technology, and the human future at the
cost of nature’s degradation.
• As the world continues to transform and develop in a pace beyond anyone’s
expectations because of science and technology, scientific and technological
innovations now come with RESPONSIBILITES.