Good-Life

THE GOOD LIFE
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the students
should be able to:
• Examine what is meant by a good life;
• Identify how humans attempt to attain
what is deemed to be a good life; and
• Recognize possibilities available to
human being to attain the good life.
Sharing
• What makes a
good life?
• Are you currently
having a good life?
Good life?
Good life?
Good life?
Good Life?
Good Life?
Good Life?
Aristotle and How We All Aspire for a Good Life
Plato and Aristotle embarked on a different approach in
figuring out reality.
Aristotle and How We All Aspire for a Good Life
Plato thought that things in this world are not real and are
only copies of the real in the world of forms. Change is so
perplexing that it can only make sense if there are two
realities: the world of forms and the world of matter:
- “The physical world is not the “real ” world; instead,
ultimately reality exists beyond our physical world”.
- In the world of matter, things are changing and
impermanent;
- In the world of forms, the entities are only copies of the
ideal and the models, and the forms are the only real
entities.
Theory of Forms
1. World of Matter/Physical Realm
- the material stuff we see and interact
with, on a daily basis.
- mutable/changing
- Physical/visible
- imperfect
Theory of Forms
2. Spiritual Realm/ World of Forms
- realm of Ideas/Realm of Ideals
- the physical realm is only a shadow of the
true reality of the realm of forms.
- non-physical
-perfect
- immutable
Aristotle forwarded the idea that there is no reality over
and above what the senses can perceive, claiming that this
world is all there is to it and that this world is the only
reality we can all access.
- Declares that even human beings are potentialities who
aspire for their actuality.
- Every action that emanates from a human person is a
function of the purpose (telos) that the person has.
- All being is in the world
- Forms exist in sensible objects; not in a separate
Platonic realm.
- Every human person, according to Aristotle, aspires for
an end. This end is happiness or human flourishing.
- Claims that happiness is the “be all and end all” of
everything that we do
- Human flourishing, a kind of contentment in knowing
that one is getting the best out of life
Nicomachean Ethics
• All human activities aim at some good.
Every art and human inquiry, and similarly
every action and pursuit , is thought to aim
at some good; and for this reason the
good has been rightly declared as that at
which all things aim.
What is meant by good life?
• living in comfort and luxury with few
problems or worries.
• characterized by happiness from living and
doing well
• contentment
What is eudaimonia?
• came from the Greek word eu meaning
“good” and daimon meaning “spirit”.
• refers to the good life marked by
happiness and excellence.
• flourishing life filled with meaningful
endeavors that empower the human
person to be the best version of
himself/herself.
Aristotle’s view of good life
• the activity of the soul in accordance with

virtue.
• What is virtue?
Virtue/s
• behavior showing high moral standards.
• synonyms: goodness, virtuousness,
righteousness, morality, ethicalness, uprightness,
upstandingness, integrity, dignity, rectitude,
honesty, honorableness, honorability, honor,
incorruptibility, probity, propriety, decency,
respectability, nobility, nobility of soul/spirit,
nobleness, worthiness, worth, good,
trustworthiness, meritoriousness,
irreproachableness, blamelessness, purity,
pureness, lack of corruption, merit; principles, high
principles, ethics "the simple virtue and integrity of
peasant life"
Aristotle’s view of good life
• believed that good for humans is the
maximum realization of what was unique
to humans.
• the good for humans was to reason well.
• The task of reason was to teach humans
how to act virtuously, and the exercise
faculties in accordance with virtue.
Nicomachean Ethics
“Virtue, then, being of two kinds, intellectual
and moral, intellectual virtue in the main
owes its birth and growth in teaching ( for its
reason it requires experience and time).
While moral virtue comes about as a result
of habit”
The Virtues
• Intellectual virtue
• learning to be the best you can be by understanding
the world and achieving goals.
• theoretical wisdom (thinking and truth)
• practical wisdom
• understanding. Experience and time are necessary
requirements for the development of intellectual virtue
• Moral virtue
• doing the greater good and being a better person by
learning from mistakes and doing what feels right
naturally.
• controlled by practical wisdom (ability to make right
judgment)
• owed its development to how one nurtured it as habit.
• can be learned
Happiness to Aristotle
• "Happiness depends on ourselves.“
• central purpose of human life and a goal in
itself.
• depends on the cultivation of virtue.
• a genuinely happy life required the
fulfillment of a broad range of conditions,
including physical as well as mental well-
being.
Happiness as the Ultimate Purpose
of Human Existence
• happiness is a final end or goal that
encompasses the totality of one's life.
• It is not something that can be gained or
lost in a few hours, like pleasurable
sensations.
• It is more like the ultimate value of your life
as lived up to this moment, measuring how
well you have lived up to your full potential
as a human being.
Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life
• Materialism
- The first materialists were the atomists in Ancient
Greece.
- Democritus and Leucippus belief is that the world is
made up of and is controlled by the tiny indivisible units
in the world called atomos or seeds.
- For Democritus and his disciples, the world, including
human beings, is made up of matter.
- Only material entities matter. In terms of human
flourishing, matter is what makes us attain happiness.
• Hedonism
- The hedonists, for their part, see the end goal of life in
acquiring pleasure.
- Life is about obtaining and indulging in pleasure
because life is limited.
- The mantra of this school of thought is the famous,
“Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
• Stoicism
- The idea that to generate happiness, one must learn to
distance oneself and be apathetic.
- For the stoics, happiness can only be attained by a
careful practice of apathy.
• Theism
- The ultimate basis of happiness for theists is the
communion with God.
- The world where we are in is only just a temporary reality
where we have to maneuver around while waiting for the
ultimate return to the hands of God.
• Humanism
- The freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to
legislate his own laws, free from the shackles of a God
that monitors and controls.
- Humanists see themselves not merely as stewards of the
creation but as individuals who are in control of
themselves and the world outside them.
DISCUSSION POINTS
1. What is the good life?
2. What is the relationship between the
good life and science?
3. Does technology always lead us to the
good life? How and why?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
1. Good Life Collage. Cut out pictures in magazines or
newspapers that demonstrate how technology has
made the man’s desire for a happy life more
realizable. You may also opt to print out pictures
from websites and other sources. Explain how
these technological advancements have made the
campaign for the attainment of good life easier or
otherwise. Present it in class.
2. Compare and Contrast. Identify two modes of
doing the same thing where one involves a more
technologically advanced method. Example would
be snail mail vs. e-mail. List down as many
examples. Brainstorm with a partner if a less
technologically sophisticated mechanism can
actually turn out to be better in terms of reaching
for the good life. Is the more technologically
advanced always better?
LESSON SUMMARY
• Every person has his perspective when it comes to
what comprises the good life;
• classical theorists thought that happiness has to do
with the insides of the human person. The soul, as
the seat of our humanity, has been the focus of
attention of this end goal;
• At present, we see multitudes of schools of thought
that all promise their own key to finding happiness;
• Science and technology has been, for the most part,
at the forefront of man’s attempts at finding this
happiness.
End Lecture

Good-Life

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Good-Life

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Good-Life

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE GOOD LIFE

• the activity of the soul in accordance with

You might also like