Hedonism to Eudaimonism

An argument against the pursuit of happiness

In my first year of teaching on a working-class, severely deprived council estate in Barnsley, Yorkshire (UK), I was conditioned into thinking engagement is everything. As long as the kids are engaged they will behave and the best way to engage them is with quick rewards. The old ‘3 positives for every negative comment’ might as well have been plastered on every corridor. And in principle (and knowing no better) I was sold on this. It was simple. With every student, just find the smallest opportunity to reward them. Keep rewarding them. Engagement will go up and learning will happen…

Fast forward to a very challenging lesson with a ‘bottom set’ Grade 7 class where I spent 45 out of the 50 minutes passing out raffle tickets to the kids who would stay in their seats, and those who got a pen out of their bag and I began to question this philosophy. I was reminded of this experience while reading Andrea Downie’s article ‘Could Redesigning Education End the Mental Health Crisis?’ This fascinating article proposes a paradigm shift away from Hedonistic approaches to well-being (quick fixes, instant rewards and actively pursuing joy and happiness) and towards Eudiamonic approaches to well-being (meaning and purpose, long-term satisfaction and self-determination) that, among many things, helps us to avoid the ‘Happiness Hangover’.

The idea that happiness is a skill to be taught and joy is an outcome to be achieved is uncomfortable.

As someone very passionate about well-being in schools, but who has also battled my fair share of personal demons, the positive psychology movement has just never sat right with me. The idea that happiness is a skill to be taught and joy is an outcome to be achieved is uncomfortable. If it were really that simple to teach happiness, I would never have spent as much as I have on therapy…

The idea that has always resonated more fully with me is Amartya Sen’s notion that true freedom is ‘living the life you have reason to value’. And our role as educators is not to dictate what is worth valuing but to enhance every individual's capabilities to achieve the things they value. And, as Downie argues, creating conditions for eudaimonic well-being where learners can thrive, where learning is meaningful, where interconnectedness is paramount, and where your sense of self is shaped by your relationships with others.

Downie calls for us to ‘ think about what could happen to the state of mental health if a whole generation focused less on quick fixes, external validation and greener pastures and more on meaning, purpose, authenticity, and personal growth’… and ‘acknowledged the hard stuff along the way’.

I for one am on board.