Autarkeia

Needing nothing

Autarkeia is the condition of lacking nothing, of being complete in oneself. Aristotle makes it a mark of happiness, which must be so self-sufficient that, once possessed, it leaves nothing to be desired. The Cynics and Stoics turn it into a discipline: by reducing wants and locating the good in virtue alone, the wise become as self-sufficient as a god. The fullest self-sufficiency belongs to the One, which needs nothing and from which all else flows.