Jots and Tittles and other Random Things

BCoF for Oct 30th.

This word, eudaimonia, is roughly translated happiness. Aristotle, on the other hand regarded it as something higher, more noble than just happiness. It was to be achieved for its own sake, rather than just to make oneself feel happy.

I am a bit of a sceptic. I think being happy is fine; but what about growth? What about the knowledge of good and evil? One does not really grow in ideal conditions. It is usually in infirmity or discomfort that one's self grows and matures. At least in my opinion. Amazing that random acts of dis-ease or unpleasantness can cause one to grow in understanding, while just being happy leads one to just "being".

The Bible even says in Romans 5:3-5:

[3] And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
[4] And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
[5] And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

This may give us hope and inspiration. I think that we cannot replace troubles for happiness, but that we can use both. It is the troubles that causes growth, and the happiness that we can grow even in troubles.

My two cents' worth, anyway.




Oct 30 prompt ▼

Prompt: Use these words in your entry: eudaemonia, sceptic, evil, random, inspiration, and replace.

Eudaimonia, in Aristotelian ethics, the condition of human flourishing or of living well. The conventional English translation of the ancient Greek term, “happiness,” is unfortunate because eudaimonia, as Aristotle and most other ancient philosophers understood it, does not consist of a state of mind or a feeling of pleasure or contentment, as “happiness” (as it is commonly used) implies. For Aristotle, eudaimonia is the highest human good, the only human good that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end).

https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia