Eudaimonia se često prevodi kao sreća i samim tim shvata kao emocija, shodno današnjoj pristrasnosti.
Eudamonia je u antičko doba označavalo nešto drugo, pouzdanije i stabilnije- stanje blaženstva i ljudskog procvata ili, pogotovu po Aristotelu, stanje rađenja- što vodi ka dobro provedenom životu.
Ovde je moramo dovesti u korelaciju sa stoičkim pojmom prirode, jer se često spominje “živeti u skladu sa prirodom”.
“Philosophy requires only what your nature already demands.” – M. Aurelius
Tako da, stoičko učenje i poimanje eudaimonie potiče iz njihovog shvatanja prirode. Pitanje koje može proisteći zašto toliki naglasak na razumu? Jer nas upravo razum razlikuje od drugih bića na planeti.
“… when reason by way of a more perfect leadership has been bestowed on the beings we call rational, for them life according to reason rightly becomes the natural life. For reason supervenes to shape impulse scientifically.”-
Diogenes Laertious
Tako da dobar život mora da bude pod okriljem razuma i vrlina. On ne zahteva eksterna dobra, kao što su bogatstvo, dobar izgled ili čak dobro zdravlje (barem po Stoicima; Aristotelovci se ne bi složili). Razum i vrline su dakle nužan i dovoljan uslov za dobar život. Loš život- onaj ispunjen porocima, koje su u suprotnosti sa vrlinama. Sve između je neutralan život, odnosno indiferentan.
“Virtue is according to nature; vice is opposed to it and hostile.”- Seneca
Michel Daw u svom tekstu https://modernstoicism.com/what-does-living-in-accordance-with-nature-actually-mean-by-michel-daw/ dodatno priča o vezi između dobrog življenja i prirode:
- ‘Human Nature’ refers to the condition of a human who is expressing the very best in his or her development, that is their ultimate ‘best self’. They are growing and changing in an effort to reach the ultimate goal for a human being.
- Whether or not we fully express our ‘human nature’, depends on our choices alone. The Stoic phrase ‘live according to Nature’ therefore is actually a combination of points: ‘Live according to Nature’ actually means ‘live a virtuous life because that is what you have been designed to do. The capacity to do so exists in you, but you ultimately have the choice to express it or not.’
Živeti eudaimoničan život, jeste voditi život koji vodi ka ljudskom procvatu, za šta smo i predodređeni.
