Eudaimonia (
Greek: ), sometimes
anglicized as
eudaemonia or
eudemonia , is a Greek word commonly translated as
happiness or
welfare; however, "human flourishing" has been proposed as a more accurate translation. Etymologically, it consists of the words "
eu" ("good") and "
daimon" ("spirit"). It is a central concept in
Aristotelian ethics and
political philosophy, along with the terms "
arete", most often translated as "
virtue" or "excellence", and "
phronesis", often translated as "practical or ethical wisdom". In Aristotle's works, eudaimonia was (based on older Greek tradition) used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including
ethics and
political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it really is, and how it can be achieved.