How Can Live The 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.

Only when these two aspects of the soul are engaged can one be closer to achieving happiness. Aristotle refutes elitist thinking by stating that all people have the capacity to reason within the soul. The good and bad characteristics in people come from the kinds of activities that they desire to undertake. Aristotle also generally defines the good life as simply doing what one wants to do, but happiness can only truly be achieved when one desires to do the correct things.

Aristotle starts off in his essay explaining the definitions of Good, Primacy of Statecraft and the study of Ethics. He defines good as where all things are to be aimed, for example health. He then defines Statecraft as citizens of a state, a country, and of the world need to do good for their own good but more importantly for the good of the state. He also characterizes various types of good. Finally, the definition on study of Ethics. This talks about the pure excellence of justice that involves the disagreements and agreements of uncertainty and certainty. Aristotle also talks about happiness and where a certain

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, at an absolute basic sense, aims at the title of this course: the good life. In an age where philosophy and ethics were not largely developed, Aristotle aims to provide a universal standard for human flourishing and happiness, or the good life. His main argument is that all of our actions and goals are aiming towards human flourishment, but that each action falls into a range of virtues, where excess is one extreme and deficiency is the other extreme. The virtue that we all strive for, he states, is in the middle of these. For example, temperance is a universal human virtue, with pleasures and pains as the excess and deficiency. He states that virtues can be developed and learned over time and through practice,

Aristotle lists honor, pleasure, and wealth as the things believed to make humans happy. He believed that because honor could be easily taken away it was superficial and that pleasure, although enjoyable, was merely an “animal like quality”. Wealth was described as a vehicle to achieve greater status. The moderation of the three vices could be achieved but would not, in-itself produce or guarantee eudaimonia. Instead, Aristotle was of the opinion that wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice, would better lead person to happiness.

Aristotle is an ancient Greek philosopher who has played a part in subjects such as mathematics and ethics. As a known student of Plato, Aristotle’s knowledge on various topics immensely affected people’s philosophical views. For Aristotle, his definitions of human happiness and a good life consist of being virtuous all throughout life. Happiness comes from being an overall good person; this is “the best way to lead a life and give it meaning” (Psychology Today). According to Aristotle, happiness is a continuing achievement. “Happiness is more a question of behavior and of habit—of ‘virtue’—than of luck; a person who cultivates such behaviors and habits is able to bear his

Socrates definition of the good life is being able to fulfill the “inner life” by inquiring and expanding the mind to the greatest extent possible. Socrates would agree with the good life being more important than life itself. If today’s society was asked the question regarding which one is more important, my guess will be that not many will even be able to differentiate. It will be a very controversial discussion with a lot of bias opinions. David Hume is one of the philosophers who would disagree with Socrates. Socrates proposed his idea of the good life in his encounter with Crito which was written by Plato.

For this Final Essay, I will be addressing the question: 5) Love. What does Jesus mean by “love” in the Sermon on the Mount? Define the Biblical concept of love and distinguish it from Plato’s view of love. (Note that in the Greek original of the New Testament and of Symposium, two different words are used) Then, in the context of each work, how is love related to the goodlife?

One of Aristotle’s conclusions in the first book of Nicomachean Ethics is that “human good turns out to be the soul’s activity that expresses virtue”(EN 1.7.1098a17). This conclusion can be explicated with Aristotle’s definitions and reasonings concerning good, activity of soul, and excellence through virtue; all with respect to happiness.

Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western philosophy, and is most notably known for expressing his view of happiness in Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle develops a theory of how to live the good life and reach eudaimonia (happiness). Eudaimonia has been translated into, living a happy and virtuous life. Aristotle’s definition of the good life as the happy life, consist of balancing virtues (arête), the mean, external goods, political science, and voluntary action.

Virtue, he argues, comes along with choice and habit, meaning that as we make the right decisions in life, they become habit and thus we do not have to think about what is right and what choice to make. We also must gain reason which requires external goods that ensures action. Aristotle describes some of these goods to show how they affect our happiness: “we use friends and riches and political power as instruments; and there are some things the lack of which takes the lustre from happiness, as good birth, goodly children, beauty; for the man who is very ugly in appearance or ill-born or solitary and childless is not very likely to be happy” (Book 1 Sec 8). Because these goods force us into action they create the capability to gain reason and thus virtue.

To Aristotle, ethics is not an exact science, it’s ruled by broad generalizations that work most of the time and are found with those of experience, the men of practical wisdom (Nicomachean Ethics, 1094b15-1095a10). We don’t need a focused study in the sciences to understand the good, all one needs is a proper understanding of how the external aspects of life: friendship, pleasure, honor, and wealth operate in concert. No aspects of friendship, pleasure, honor, and wealth ought to be practiced too much (excess) or too little (deficient); moral virtue is action performed between two extremes (Nic. Ethics, 1106b5-25). And it is by consultation that one may find the middle ground between excess and deficiency, The Golden Mean (Nic. Ethics, 1097b5-20; Nic. Ethics, 1104a10-25).

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.

The Good life can be interpreted in many ways by various people. It is pondered by every individual and can be discussed and analyzed in different ways. The following texts have shown me a very different perspective to the good life. One that I would of never thought I would have. Every person can come to their own decisions to define the good life. I believe after one reads the chosen texts, one will have a better understanding and can determine specific arguments and reasons for their beliefs.