Gec 6

THE GOOD LIFE
Objectives:
At the end of this topic, students should be able to:
1. Examine what is meant by a good life in various philosophies;
2. Examine what you consider to be the good life and determine
which philosophy that represents;
3. Identify how humans attempt to attain what is deemed to be a
good life;
4. Recognize possibilities available to human beings to attain the
good life; and
5. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to
come up with innovative, creative solutions and ethical solutions.
What is Good Life as Perceived by different schools of thought?
Aristotle and Good life
It is interesting to note that the first philosopher who approached the
problem of reality from scientific lens is Aristotle who is also the first
thinker who dabbled into the complex problematization of the end goal
of life: happiness.
Compared to his predecessor and teacher, Plato, Aristotle
embarked on different approach in figuring out reality. Plato thought
that things in this world are not real and are only copies of the real in
the world of forms. While Aristotle puts everything back to the ground
in claiming that this world is all there and that this world is the only
reality, we can all access.
Aristotle also forwarded the idea that there is no reality over and
above what the senses can perceive. As such, it is only by observation
of the external world that one can truly understand what reality is all
about. Change is a process that is inherent in things. We, along with
all other entities in the world start as potentialities and move towards
actualities. The movement, of course, entails change.
Look at the seed in the picture. It eventually germinates and grows
into a plant. The seed that turned to become the plant underwent
change from the potential plant that is the seed to its full actuality.
This can be likened to what Aristotle says that every human person
aspires for an end. This end is happiness or human flourishing. And no
one resists happiness because we all want to be happy.
Materialism
The first materialists were the atomists in Ancient Greece.
Democritus and Leucippus led a school whose primary belief is that
the world is made up of and is controlled by the tiny indivisible units in
the world called atomos or seeds. Accordingly, the world including
human beings, is made up of matter and there is no need to possess
immaterial entities as sources of purpose. Atoms simply comes
together randomly to form the things in the world. As such, only
material entities matter.
In terms of human flourishing, matter is what makes us attain
happiness. The material things we possess give us ultimate
happiness. We see this at work with most people who are clinging on
to material wealth as the primary source of meaning of their existence.
Hedonism
The Hedonists see the end goal of life in acquiring pleasure.
Pleasure has always been the priority of hedonists. For them life is
obtaining and indulging in pleasure because life is limited.
They believe that pleasure give meaning to their life without thinking
of the future. The mantra of this school of thought is the famous, “Eat,
drink and merry for tomorrow we will die.
Stoicism
Another school of thought led by Epicurus, the stoics, exposed the
idea that to generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself
and be apathetic. The original term apatheia, precisely means to be
indifferent. These group believe that they can do things at their own
and believe that happiness can only be attained by a careful practice
of apathy.
Theism
Most people find the meaning of their lives using God as the fulcrum
of their existence. The Philippines, as predominantly country, is
witness to how people base their life goals on beliefs that hinged on
some form of supernatural reality called heaven. The ultimate basis of
happiness for theists is the communion with God.
Humanism
Another school of thought is humanism where it espouses the
freedom man to carve his own destiny and to legislate his own laws,
free from the shackles of a God that monitors and controls. To the
humanist, man is literally the captain of his own ship, inspired by
enlightenment.
In the seventeenth century, humanists saw themselves not merely
as stewards of the creation but as individuals who are in control of
themselves and the world outsides them. This is the spirit of most
scientists who thought that the world is a place and a space for freely
unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how to improve the lives of
its inhabitants.
The scientists of today, meanwhile, are ready to confront more
sophisticated attempts at altering the world for the benefit of society.
Some people now are willing to tamper with time and space in the
name of technology.
Example: Social media (SocMed) has been, so far, a very effective

way of employing technology in purging time and space. Not very long
ago, communication between two people from two
continents in the planet will involve months of waiting for a mail to
arrive. Today communication whether between two people wherever
they are, is not just possible, but easy.
Whether you agree or not with technological advancements,
these are all undertaken in the hopes of achieving a good life. The
balance between the good life, ethics, and technology has to be
attained.

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THE GOOD LIFE

Example: Social media (SocMed) has been, so far, a very effective

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