Aristotle, eudaimonia, neuroscience and economics
3.1 ARISTOTLE AND EUDAIMONIA
Eudaimonia for Aristotle means a good life, a live well lived. The term eudaimonia is sometimes translated as ‘thriving’ and sometimes as ‘happi- ness’. In either case, Aristotle means it to refer to life considered as a whole, rather than to a momentary experience, psychological state or emotion.
To understand Aristotle’s conception of eudaimonia, we should start with Aristotle’s theory of the psyche (anima in Latin), or soul. Aristotle believed the human soul to be divided into three capacities or faculties: the vegetative or nutritive faculty; the sensitive faculty; and the rational faculty (nous).1
In Aristotle’s understanding, the first faculty is shared by all life, plants and animals. It is the ability to survive through nutrition and reproduction. The second faculty is shared only with animals, and includes the sensory capacities that guide motion towards pleasurable stimuli and away from aversive stimuli. The sensitive faculty may also be called the appetitive faculty, focusing on the appetitive desires of the senses. The third faculty is purely human, the ability to reason and deliberate. The rational faculty includes both intellectual abilities, such as logic, and moral abilities, nota- bly the ability to pursue pleasures in moderation rather than excess.
“Aristotle, eudaimonia, neuroscience, and economics,” in A Modern Guide to the Economics of Happiness, Luigino Bruni, Alessandra Smerilli, Dalila De Rose (eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021: 29-45.