Following on from last week: If we accept that happiness isn’t the goal, then where does that leave us? It’s all well and good proclaiming that the point of life isn’t to aim for positive feelings and avoid negative feelings, but that in and of itself doesn’t give us a heading or purpose. So what do we do? What do we aim for? What should we seek?
Aristotle presented us with something of a solution. It was known then in Ancient Greece as Eudaimonia. It is the claim that every living thing exists to fulfill a certain function unique to itself. The pursuit and practice of this function is considered the highest good. The quality of performance in regard to this purpose is proportional to the quality of it’s enablers. A knifes performance of cutting through food is only as good as it’s enabler — how sharp it is. A seeds performance of spreading roots and blooming flowers is only as good as the quality of it’s soil and the access to sufficient nutrients and water.
It follows that Eudaimonia is found in the good performance of our unique function as a human being, and that the quality and combination of our enablers is the chief determinant of that performance. So what is our unique function then? The Stoics, after Aristotles time, argued that Summum Bonum — Latin for the ‘highest good’ — is found in our ability to live with virtue. Our virtue and reason is certainly unique among all living things. Even the close relatives to Homo Sapiens (modern day humans) such as the Neanderthals or Homo Erectus (crazy name) lacked any real sufficient capacity for complex reasoning, and had to rely solely on their animalistic tendencies and natural instincts.
The man who has virtue, in in need of nothing whatever for the purpose of living well — Cicero
If our purpose is to live with virtue, then we must focus on the quality of our enablers — the characteristics of our moral standards. This is your toolkit of values and your repertoire of principles with which you employ to champion your purpose and exercise your beliefs. Before we explore the world of stoic moral excellence I believe it’s important to note that the enablers of virtuous living are not found in the realm of external drivers. It is not pleasure, admiration, validation, wealth or fame that contribute to the performance of living virtuously, and you should do well to remember this.
If you are every tempted to look for outside approval, realise that you have compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own — Epictetus
For the Stoics, Eudaimonia is rooted in four primary virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Temperance and Justice. This compass of ethical guidance can direct us to right action, and is the key to accessing enduring levels of balanced well-being and satisfaction.
Wisdom is found in the knowledge of what is right and wrong, good and bad, what is neither good nor bad, what we should seek and what we should choose, what is to be feared and what should be indifferent. It is the window with which we understand what has happened and choose how we respond.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response — Viktor E. Frankl
Courage is the ability stand up to the irrational norms and status-quo of society, and the bravery to forego wrong action and bare the criticism. Courage is holding steadfast your beliefs and values even when everyone is disregarding theirs, and is encouraging you to do the same.
Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect — Marcus Aurelius
Temperance, also known by Aristotle as the golden mean, is found exactly in the middle between too much and too little. Too much courage leads to recklessness, too little leads to cowardice. Moderation against the two extremes of anything protects us from the dilution and dissatisfaction of our well-being.
Do not seek for things to happen the way you want them; rather, wish that what happens happen the way it happens: then you will be happy — Epictetus
Justice is all about doing the right thing. It encompasses fairness, being honest, treating others with respect and with dignity. It considers not only the benefits of our actions on ourselves but also that of the larger community, and nature itself.
With these four enablers you may set forth, live with virtue and access the profound sense of purpose and satisfaction which supersedes the temporary pleasure of traditional happiness.What happens to you doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you do about it. Are you living with virtue?
Just Something To Consider.
🔗 Source
Duignan, B. (July 2024). Eudaimonia. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia
Holiday, R. The highest good: an introduction to the 4 stoic virtues. The Daily Stoic. https://dailystoic.com/4-stoic-virtues/
Aurelius, M. Meditations. Penguin Classics.
Epictetus. Discourses. Penguin Classics.