ABSTRACT
The roots of modern Political Economy are very deep-rooted, let alone the roots of the philosophical reflection on happiness. Where can the starting point for such a historical analysis be fixed? I choose to begin with Aristotle because his theory of happiness-eudaimonia sets the course for the discussion on happiness in western culture. In that theory of happiness, enclosed in the term “eudaimonia”,31 we find the fundamental coordinates that will mark the route for the research we will carry out in the following chapters. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as all the classical schools of philosophy (i.e. Stoicism)32 explored the diverse dimensions of happiness. The fundamental ideas they shared on happiness were:
a happiness is the final, or ultimate, end of life: is the “highest good” for the human being;
b happiness is self-sufficient, because there is nothing that, added to it, would increase its value;
c there is an inseparable bond between happiness and the practice of virtues;
d because virtues bear fruits regardless of self-interest, happiness can be reached only as a by-product if it is sought in non-instrumental ways, seeking to be virtuous.
