In philosophy, euthymia ( el, εὐθυμία, "gladness, good mood,
serenity", literally "good
thumos
''Thumos'' (also commonly spelled 'thymos'; grc-gre, θυμός) is the Ancient Greek concept of "spiritedness" (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to ...
") is, according to the ancient Greek philosopher
Democritus
Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...
, a basis of human life goals.
Diogenes Laërtius records Democritus' view as follows: "The chief good he asserts to be cheerfulness (euthymia); which, however, he does not consider the same as pleasure; as some people, who have misunderstood him, have fancied that he meant; but he understands by cheerfulness, a condition according to which the soul lives calmly and steadily, being disturbed by no fear, or superstition, or other
passion."
In
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
’s
essay on tranquility, euthymia is defined as “believing in yourself and trusting that you are on the right path, and not being in doubt by following the myriad footpaths of those wandering in every direction.”
See also
*
Ataraxia
''Ataraxia'' (Greek: ἀταραξία, from ("a-", negation) and ''tarachē'' "disturbance, trouble"; hence, "unperturbedness", generally translated as "imperturbability", " equanimity", or "tranquility") is a Greek term first used in Ancient ...
*
Thumos
''Thumos'' (also commonly spelled 'thymos'; grc-gre, θυμός) is the Ancient Greek concept of "spiritedness" (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to ...
*
Euthymia (medicine)
In psychiatry and psychology, euthymia is a normal, tranquil mental state or mood.
In those with bipolar disorder, euthymia is a stable mental state or mood that is neither manic nor depressive, yet distinguishable from the state of healthy peop ...
References
{{Reflist
Sources
Democritus: Ethics– ''
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
Concepts in ancient Greek ethics
Happiness