:: COMPARE ::
The short answer
Hedonism locates the good life in pleasure — more of it, less pain. Eudaimonia locates it in virtuous, purposeful activity, where pleasure may accompany a flourishing life but is never the thing that makes it good.
Side by side
| Aspect | Eudaimonia | Hedonism |
|---|---|---|
| The good is | Flourishing through virtue | Pleasure |
| Measured in | A whole life's activity | How it feels now |
| Pleasure is | A by-product | The goal |
| A hard season | Can still be part of it | Counts against it |
What each one means
Eudaimonia is the ancient Greek idea of human flourishing — "living well" as the highest good, achieved over a whole life of virtuous, purposeful activity rather than through momentary pleasure or good feeling.
Full definition of Eudaimonia →Hedonism names three different things: the value claim that pleasure is the only thing good in itself and pain the only thing bad in itself; the separate psychological claim that pleasure and pain are all that motivate us; and, in everyday use, devotion to pleasure as a way of life.
Full definition of Hedonism →