Energia Kinesis- Aristotle @TheOrphanMan
Energia is a word coined by Aristotle based upon the Greek ‘ergon’, or work. Because the philosophy of Energia is discussed mostly in the excerpts on Physics and Metaphysics, this word can be made to be understood as, ‘thing-in-practice” or “thing-in-motion”.
The distinction I want to make here is that Aristotle’s Energeia should be understood as both ‘actuality’ or what Aristotle might also call ‘practicality’; or, to use a universally microcosmic version of that, ‘things in motion.’.
Aristotle applies the meaning of Energia to human life in two ways, pleasure, and happiness- two words combined in the what he called Eudaimonia, containing the Greek root word for harmony ‘Harmonia’. Pleasure is the state of being fully energized by sensory input whereas happiness, as defined by this ancient is determined in the mind of the human being.
To put it another way, pleasure is cultivated by what is external to the individual and happiness is a kinetic decision making inside the individual. ‘Kinesis’ in Greek has been translated to ‘motion’.
Kinesis relates directly to happiness. When we think about the principal of Mind before Matter and apply what Aristotle is giving to humanity here. Kinesis can be made to be understood as control over your motion, and more importantly emotion- or if we break it down- (energy-in-motion). Which may even be understood as an argument for free-will.
Kinesis, therefore, is one’s ability to control their internal happiness; it is also, however, a means to manifest external pleasure by its very nature as it is the (energy-in-motion). Here I think we reach the real essence of Eudaimonia.
Most people will favor either pleasure or happiness, but there is a reason Eudaimonia is rooted in the word harmony, and that is because in order to achieve it you have to reach a state of balance between being pleased with your external life and happy with yourself.
An accurate interpretation of Eudaimonia, I think would be, “energy-is-motion”; energy relating to the Greek “Energia” and motion to “Kinesis”.
If we relate this to mind before matter, it means that in order to achieve whatever it is we are searching for, we need to balance both our internally determined happiness and our externally determined situation.
The key to both, however, is kinesis or motion. In order to achieve ‘Eudaimonia’ an idea that today can be equated to ‘The Good Life’, requires balance. As is the root of the word “harmony”. Eudaimonia is having the sense to know when your pleasure is being invaded upon and when it is up to you to create your own happiness.
Both require kinesis to bring into harmonia, or harmony.