Happiness And Happiness : What Makes A Good Life

The “good life” is one of stability and the failure to be affected by forces and circumstances beyond the control of the individual. This has been clearly stated beginning with Socrates, stating how each life should be lived with self-purpose: no outside influences. The artificial “goods” represent that of wealth, status, and political power, whereas what an individual should cherish is their own personal beliefs and convictions. All items that society has taught a person to hold and respect create more damage and disruption than they benefit as they can easily be taken from oneself. A fortune can be lost, the President will run out of terms, but the moral holding of each person is something that cannot be lost or stripped by a force outside

Human nature dictates the necessity of being successful and happy, and to find internal contentment, but what truly defines the good life? Everyone makes decisions about the person they want to be and what is most important to them: Which do you value more, your wealth or your friendships? Do you want to be famous or truly loved? Do you care what people think or are you just trying to please yourself? I think the good life is a combination of everything, and is a fine line that everyone must walk if they want to be truly content.

In philosophy, there are many understandings of the Good Life. One belief is long-term happiness is the ultimate end goal because it results in overall contentment in life, unlike the temporary state of feeling happy. Aristotle relates long-term happiness to human nature and explains that people achieve long-term happiness when they properly fulfill what is most essential to live a meaningful life. In the Road to Character, David Brooks explains that there two opposing sides of human nature that must be balanced in order to correctly attain all the things necessary to live the Good Life. The problem is many people are off balance and neglect to fulfill both sides of human nature because of the fact human nature is inherently flawed. Good Character works to overcome one’s faults by practicing character traits. The most important one being humility because it eliminates the greatest vice, pride. The Good Life is a struggle to achieve long-term happiness by developing good character and finding balance.

Not getting what you want all the time is no big deal, a sixteen year old might want a new car but their parents won't buy them one because working for it is more important. The only time not getting what you want is a major issue when it affects your pursuit of happiness. For example, The opportunity for everyone to be treated equal and not judged based on the color of their skin. In the declaration of independence is says we have the right to pursue happiness, such as feeling safe at school. But what happens when the government tries to deny us that right. The a Raisin in the Sun, People like us, and Trouble in Mind all have examples of our right to pursue happiness being denied.

When considering an individual’s conception of happiness, we must first look at the life they lead to understand what might make that person happy. However, to truly assess what makes an individual happy we must further analyze the individual’s character. Since the life one leads does not necessarily correlate to their happiness. There are several factors that contribute to an individual’s conception of happiness. For example, a person may lead an extravagant life full of money, power, and all the materialistic items that many desire, but that individual is not truly happy because under all that material wealth they feel unhappy and alone. Meanwhile, another individual is living within his means but he is completely happy with that life because

Americans constantly find themselves desiring happiness. However, what is happiness and how does someone achieve it? According to Webster-Dictionary.org, happiness is “An agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended with enjoyment”. Every American seeks happiness, but achieving it is the struggle. Americans search for fleeting happiness, therefore, we often find contentment in mediocre living.

Humans have tried to answer all types of questions about the world for many millennia, but there is one question which always gets a different answer for every person: What is The Good Life? My definition of The Good Life is to find a passion which is at least somewhat educational and to pursue it while helping the next generation find theirs. This definition assumes a lot of prerequisites. For example, one cannot hope to successfully pursue a passion if they lack the basic necessities of life (e.g. food, water, shelter) or materials needed to pursue that goal (e.g. books, computers). Also, the person must be tenacious and determined to follow their aspirations. There are also many other factors which help maintain The Good Life, such having acquaintances who mutually care about each other and having a supportive society. In particular, the blog Talking Philosophy mentions Aristotle’s Golden Mean, which states that “All things in moderation; nothing to excess”. This is

Having a “good” life can be described by general qualities of trust, love, compassion, respect, and loyalty. As Aristotle has similarly interpreted, doing good and just actions are only just if the intent to be good is present. Doing unjust actions is only considered unjust if the intent follows the action. This theme or idea to me, seems to be common knowledge and reason that should be universally accepted as the way to live a good life. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines happiness as the “good” for every human being, consisting of virtues that make up or characterize the human soul. Through the notion of happiness as an end in itself, a clear understanding of the true meaning can be acquired. According to Aristotle, any activity seeks out an ultimate end. This ultimate end or goal is happiness, and this can be interpreted through the idea that happiness is never used as a means to another

What constitutes a “good life”? Aristotle sought the answer to this question. Two books, Nicomachean ethics and Eudemuan ethics, were dedicated to discovering what a good life is. He reached the conclusion that when someone acts, they are always striving towards some final goal. So how did Aristotle explain “eudaimonia” or perfect happiness? Eudaimonia is the ultimate good we strive towards, that requires no further questioning. What he means by no further questioning is this. Something that is the final good you want to acquire from your work. Aristotle looked over several possible answers before coming to his conclusion. First there is honor. But, we see that honor is just another tool to reach ultimate fulfillment. Likewise, pleasure

Nearly every day of my life, especially for the past two years, I do not consider myself a genuinely happy human being, and that has truly forced me to question my true purpose here on earth. In fact, it has forced me to question my existence. For that reason, today, I cannot truly or sincerely answer the following question: What is a good life? Is the good life a life in which one is succeeding both academically and professionally? Is it a life in which one must push himself or herself through every obstacle that life may toss at him or her? Despite how much it may hurt or make he or she feel that earth is no longer home for him or her. Is it a life in which one must always think about his or her loved ones, especially if something were to

Happiness is not always easy to achieve. Life throws curve balls and it’s hard to swing at all of them. I try to stay happy all the time or I fake it. I don’t want ruin other people’s happiness by being upset. I am blessed to say I have a happy life but there is plenty of ways I could increase my own happiness. Sleeping more than I do right now would increase my happiness. Doing more for others and spreading kindness is another way I could have a happier life. Lastly, planning events or activities beforehand would not only make me happier but also less stressed. I would love to be happier, but I need to be committed to make changes in my life.

The beautiful smile. The joyous laugh. The smiling eyes. The high pitched voice. All describe the characteristics of one being happy. Benjamin Franklin once stated “money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.”. In turn that quote has been a center of debates for centuries. Conversing over the debatable topic in which happiness does or does not extend from money. In a society such as the twentieth century, happiness is evidently reflected by wealth. Therefore, happiness is influenced by the amount of wealth that corresponds to the way one uses their money.

This was a hard subject for me because happiness is quite difficult to define the true meaning, because it's different in each person's eyes. Yes, there's comfort in having things like food, shelter, and healthcare that money provides us, but does it offer true happiness? Before we can answer this puzzling question first let's understand what true happiness is. Happiness, true happiness is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy. This quote is by Dada Vaswani, now I know there are thousands of quotes about

Of course there has not been a definition to the concept of the good life proven to be 100% accurate, but that doesn’t stop people from believing in the good life or trying to do those things that could guarantee them the good life. If philosophers can narrow down their argument over what the good life truly means to three definitions, perfectionism, the Preference Theory, and hedonism, then of course there are more arguments out there on what the good life truly means and what it takes to achieve it. Also, there are certainly real-life situations in the world that either challenge or support each of these three definitions.

What is the key to happiness? What is that one recipe or formula that creates it? Everyone has their own interpretation of what it might be. Whether it is spending time with their family or taking the dog for a walk, it is specific to each person. Happiness is easier to find than it is made out to be. The key to being happy is simplicity; adding materialism and technology is the downfall to the delighted.