Achieving Eudaimonia

colinchamp September 27, 2021 7 Comments

Digging deeper and deeper into my clinical work as an oncologist and research in nutrition and exercise, the impact on our health of those factors totally unrelated to nutrition and exercise has become incredibly obvious to me. In fact, in many cases our local communities, relationships with friends and family, hobbies and passions, integration into our communities, and the social aspects and culture of our local communities directly impacts and even forges our health, whether we are talking about nutrition, exercise and activity, or general happiness. Our local culture and communities also surround us with beauty, push us to push ourselves, but also, unfortunately, surround us with ugliness, push us to shop and consume, and promote a listless life of convenience. Our communities can gently (or not so gently) promote arete and fare bella figura, leaving us with Ikigai and a feeling of purpose (do note that driving from place to place most of the day, buying stuff and mentally and physically consuming won’t fill you with much purpose, but rather leave you void). They can visually and through example display the importance of having good form and cultivating our personal Voltarian gardens.

All of these truths (and my love of architecture and beautiful cities) has led me down a rabbit hole the past two years reading and researching the impact architecture, our buildings, and our communities has on us and our health. This month, I had the pleasure of reading Happy Cities (check out the many used copies at Thrift Books with this promo code). The author, Charles Montgomery, takes us around the globe to discuss what makes a city good for its inhabitants, leaving them healthy and happy. The book has considerable similarities between James Howard Kunstler’s The Geography of Nowhere (though JHK wrote his masterpiece almost 30 years ago and it takes the cake on this topic), but takes us through the studies and physical examples of where haphazard, beautiful and walkable cities created for humans and not 3,000 pounds of moving steel bring people together to live, work, and socialize, and do so while leaving them healthier, skinnier, and happier. The recipe works, but we instead continue to cover it up with congested 3 lane highways and strip malls full of cheap junk made by forced labor on the opposite side of the globe. What’s even more prevalent is the fact that building more 3+ lane highways only serves to pull even more traffic in, as has been shown again and again.

Besides all of Montgomery’s insightful discussion on these issues, his discussion of Eudaimonia caught my eye the most. At this point you have probably realized that I love cultural and ancient terms that envelope several concepts that guide us on our journey to live healthy, happy, and meaningful lives. It is by no coincidence that these terms transcend cultures, massive bodies of water, and the globe. History has told humans what works and what doesn’t, and it’s up to us to listen or ignore the thousands of years of trial and error. Eudaimonia, the Greek term loosely translating to “the state of good spirit,” joins this list.

Aristotle apparently felt that Eudaimonia was a rational activity in pursuit of virtue itself along with providing ourselves with necessary externalities. As he tells us in Book I, Chapter 10 of Nichomacean Ethics:

“He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life.”

Plato had a similar view that achieving Eudaimonia required getting your hands dirty, or perhaps keeping them clean, but regardless, felt strongly that it required some effort. In The Republic, Plato discusses four virtues that are best for us and the community around us:

1. Wisdom (practical wisdom, or prudence) – the pursuit of knowledge;
2. Courage (or fortitude) – to stand up for what we believe is right and good;
3. Temperance (moderation) – or self-regulation, to avoid the vices and corruption caused by excess;
4. Justice – a social consciousness that plays a key part in maintaining societal order;

The most recent thorough conversation about Eudaimonia was by Carol Ryff, where she discussed the importance of nurturing human flourishing and major factors that lead to Eudaimonia.¹ Her catch term for this ideal state is brilliant: “challenged thriving.” Her factors for achieving Eudaimonia include:

• Self-acceptance, or how well you know and regard yourself
• Environmental mastery – your ability to navigate and thrive in the world
• Positive relations with others
• Personal growth throughout life
• Sense of meaning and purpose
• Feelings of autonomy and independence

You’ll notice that whether Aristotle and Plato were discussing Eudaimonia thousands of years ago, or Carol Ryff was expanding the definition a couple decades ago, they all require action. In other words, Eudaimonia tells us it’s what we do, not what we say. It is the opposite of virtue signaling, but rather virtue doing (for yourself, not to tell everyone about it on social media). Montgomery argued – rather well – that our communities will directly impact how well we are achieving Eudaimonia. If we live in segregated suburban sprawl where walking is nearly impossible and isolating ourselves in cars to get from point A to point B is a necessity, achieving those “positive relations with others” will be difficult or even impossible, as will “environmental mastery” when simply getting groceries requires a battle through traffic. What we need, as Montgomery describes, is the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy. Unlike the network of multi-lane highways that have invaded our neighborhoods, the large central area of Siena slows people down and draws them together. It holds them “in its palm.”

Eudaimonia is so important, that nearly all of the great philosophers discussed it and the importance of achieving it. Eudaimonia transcends people, cultures, and geographical boundaries. Ikigai, or intense purpose in life that leads to well-being, has been directly compared with Eudaimonia.²

I agree with Montgomery and would also argue that our communities are vital to Eudaimonia, and this vital link will only serve to positively impact our physical and mental health regardless of the Big Three (nutrition, sleep, and activity), though the direct overlap is unavoidable. This is why we need to support areas of our community that are walkable, local stores, farmers markets, and other activities that bring us together, instead of isolating us and delivering goods from far away to our front door, eliminating those great opportunities to get us outside, walking around, and interacting and engaging with our neighbors and community. We need to interact face-to-face with our neighbors, instead of staying at home and watching news shows that tell us how to interact (newsflash: these shows and their negative messages only serve to divide us). Turning these into lost opportunities will only serve as a roadblock to achieving Eudaimonia.

Being a good person, a healthy and happy person, and a good member of the community breeds success and health. It leaves us healthier for ourselves, but also for others. Too often these days social media and the news thrive on destroying people, attaching those that are happy, and pushing us to do the same. Instead, I say we ignore these negative influences and simply try to do our best, push ourselves, live an Intentional Lifestyle, and achieve Eudaimonia. Our neighbors will thank us.

References:
1.        Ryff, C. D. Well-Being With Soul: Science in Pursuit of Human Potential. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 13, 242–248 (2018).
2.        Kumano, M. On the Concept of Well-Being in Japan: Feeling Shiawase as Hedonic Well-Being and Feeling Ikigai as Eudaimonic Well-Being. Appl. Res. Qual. Life 13, 419–433 (2018).

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