Name: Princess Jean G.

Delos Reyes
Course Code: 11658
Subject Teacher: Jenelyn C. Retardo

Let’s Check
Activity 6. Now that you’ve understand the deep meaning of good life as it posited by
Aristotle. Write your answer on the spaces provided below.
Good Life 1. It is everyone’s ultimate aim in life.
Eudaimonia 2. It is an ancient Greek word which means living and doing well.
Happiness 3. It is said to be the ultimate end of human action. It is pursued for its own
sake.
Aristotle 4. He is the ancient Greek philosopher known for Nicomachean ethics.
Happiness 5. Utilitarian theory implies that _________ is the main goal that should be
achieved.
Utility 6. It is an important standard in evaluating the ethical reasoning and decision-
making.
Virtuous Actions 7. It is an action that requires discipline and constant practice.
Virtue 8. It is constant practice of doing good.
Intellectual Virtue 9. A type of virtue that shows success of a person in which a result
of being academically inclined.
Moral Virtue 10. A type of virtue that shows a natural character of being generous.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 6. At this point, you may have formed a better grasp of what is good. Please
answer the questions below.
1. In your opinion, what constitutes a good life?
In the context of life, the meaning of good is highly subjective. The good life is
directly associated to one’s standard, paradigm, and or experience. Significantly,
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be associated with one’s definition of a good life.
Particularly, the levels are labeled as physiological, safety, belongingness and love,
esteem, and self-actualization. If a person’s need is that of the esteem level (prestige
and feeling of accomplishment) then, his definition of a good life is recognition or
awards at any form may it be in school, work, election, or business. From these, we can
conclude how the good life is directly correlated to one’s values.
 For me, what constitutes a good life is pursuing self-actualization (the attainment
of full personal potential) associated with virtues. However, in the pursuit of my own
version of good life, I want to anchor myself in the concept of “basic way of living”. By
doing this, I am able to:
 Achieve my heart’s desire. Helping children to learn without the worries
distracting them due to financial problems is one of my advocacy in life. I
am a scholar of STEP, and with this I am beyond grateful, for I am so
privileged to be at the University of Mindanao—one of the most
prestigious schools in Mindanao. A lot may say that to be a teacher will
never make you rich, but I disagree actually, I consider it as the noblest
profession. Money can’t buy happiness, but seeing the happiness from
others is an earning no work can equal.
 Live a grandiose life with the basics. The grandeur life doesn’t always
need money to be spent over materialistic possessions. In fact, living
away from modernity actually gives peace of mind and solitude. To live
simple means a lot. You get to enjoy what the nature could provide—fresh
air, free water, tranquility, the chirping of the birds is music to your ears,
and meteor showers serve as your night show. This is the good life, that
many of the people today missed. We are inhaling so much toxin from the
polluted environment as well as from people around us that gets us sick.
This doesn’t make you happy. The good life is not about a measurement
of your possession, but how you became the fullest version of yourself just
with the small things. Importantly, with the basics, you get to appreciate
life more, be contented, and contemplate in your greater purpose as a
being. Indeed, less is more.
 Adhere to a Moral Life- In pursuing self-actualization, I must keep myself
rooted to virtues that will keep me away from worldly desires. The modern
world is deceiving and distracting. Many question how good is good, and
how life should be lived. But life should be, importantly, according to God’s
laws.
2. What does Aristotle say about the good life? How would you relate the
Aristotelian concept of good life with the contemporary world?
Aristotle sought to understand the good, wherein he posited that it is “that which
all things aim”. Further, he stated that the good life is signified by happiness emanating
from living well and doing well or the ancient Greek concept, eudaimonia. He
emphasized that the good life is marked by happiness—the ultimate end of human
action. Moreover, this happiness defines the life anchored to virtues, a life that is not
just dedicated to self-flourishing, but also for others. This includes: courage,
temperance, generosity, magnificence, magnanimity, right ambition, good temper,
friendliness, truthfulness, wit, and justice.
Aristotle views life as living with virtues. Though in the contemporary world, the
modern perspective of the good life is most adhered by people, there is some who
values the relevance of this ancient virtues to their lives. This Nicomachean Ethics can
be related to individuals or groups that create charity organization in the Philippines or
in the world. Particularly, this charity aims to give shelter and assistance to the
homeless, abandoned, abused, sick, and aged. The virtue of generosity is realized in
this noble deeds. These activities are deemed voluntary and thus, virtuous.
3. How does the progress in science and technology contribute towards
the attainment of good life?
The continuous progress in science and technology is also a step directing
mankind towards a good life. It fuels us in the pursuit of the good life, and provides a
way for it to be accessible and attainable. Additionally, it is a broad body covering
multiple organs which at the same time functions according to man’s desires.
Specifically, in the field of medicine, engineering, art, architecture, economics,
transportation, communication, and many more. These areas constantly advance in
correlation with one another due to the growths in science and technology. The
following are some of the improvements in human life as manifestations of how science
and technology contribute to the realization of good life.
1. Life Convenience. The most apparent contribution of science and technology is
making life more easy and livable. Starting from the home wherein, one could
vastly stretch his time due to the lights provided by electrical illuminations.
Additionally, appliances used in washing, cooking, and cleaning allowed one to
manage time more efficiently—multitasking. Housewives will no longer carry the
burden of heavy loads of grocery from the supermarket, for online shopping and
grocery come in handy. Moreover, transportations from land, air, to seas allowed
many businessmen or workers to save more time for travelling. These things
generate a high satisfaction level for modern people, and happiness indicators as
well which leads to a good life.
2. Healthcare Upgrade. Medical research and experiments throughout years
greatly helped in understanding the human body, diseases and other organisms
that may pose health risks. Mankind through science and technology have the
capability to defy death through vaccines, medications, and therapeutic
apparatus used to save and extend lives. Done are the days that we attribute
sickness as form of punishment from supernatural elements, for our perspective
and knowledge had also upgraded. Today, mankind’s ingenuity is once
challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic. If it weren’t for the discoveries of the
benefits brought by quarantine, health immunity boosting medicines,
implementation of minimum healthcare standards and swab testing, perhaps,
most of the people globally were infected already by the virus. Hopefully,
science will once more proved its prodigy, for a vaccine will save humanity.
3. Quick Information Access. In the information age, technological advancements
like ICT and artificial intelligence made people access information just from our
fingertips. Imagine the wonder brought by computers and the world wide web
wherein, it stands as a library or an efficient means of record-keeping that keeps
and preserves every detail of human history. However, it was not just limited to
data-piling, for communication was also made faster through different
applications that aid the time gaps in different regions of the world. Additionally,
mankind has never been secure in terms of natural disasters, for we have
 invented instruments for the forecasting of weather and predictions of typhoons,
possible volcanic eruption, and quantifying earthquakes.
4. Increased Employment Opportunities. It is noticeable that when the
government allocates a bigger budget for funding projects in science and
technology, the economy of the country prospers. This correlation can be seen
from the Marcos regime. Marcos stated that the "advancement of science and
technology shall have priority in the national development”. It was during his era
that the Philippines was ranked as the richest country in Southeast Asia, and
second in Asia. The late president has established many colossal infrastructures.
This includes the Manila Film Center, Cultural Center of the Philippines,
Philippine Heart Center, Rail Transit Transportation, NLEX and SLEX, Cebu-
Mactan Bridge, San Juanico Bridge and many more.
From this information, it can be concluded that the creation of these
projects provided jobs to many Filipinos, an avenue for business trades to took
place, and transportation was open nationwide. It was through science and
technology that the employment and business rate increased and as result, the
success of a country’s economy and individual lives.
5. Intellectual Revolutions. The Copernican, Darwinian, and Freudian Revolutions
are one of the intellectual revolutions that significantly changed the perspectives
of humanity. However, this could not be made possible if it weren’t for the
instruments and scientific information they utilized and applied for the
confirmation of their claims. Good life also means the growth of intellectual
values, and in this case the gaining of wisdom. In the near future, with the
inquisitive nature of mankind, various discoveries will probably occur that would
result to major paradigm shift.

In a Nutshell
Activity 6. In this unit, we learned that good life is everyone’s ultimate goal. We may
have different understanding and perception on how to achieve this especially in the
contemporary world. In this part, you shall draw conclusions, form perspectives, craft
arguments, and ideas from the unit lesson. The first item is provided for your reference.
You need to provide the succeeding items.
1. Aiming to have a good life is very relevant for us since we believe it gives us
happiness. Through science and technology, complete technological instruments used
for attaining our basic needs, we believe one is already living a good life. Thus,
Aristotle’s definition of good life reminded us that living with virtue that constitutes
happiness are already a good life. In the contemporary world, we need to carry always
the virtue even if there will be a highest application of such technology to aim good life.
2. Aristotle focused on happiness and virtue as twins that mark the good life. He argued
that virtuous actions govern happiness. Since virtue governs happiness, we need to
learn what the appropriate virtues are in order to preserve happiness. To be generous, I
must not only learn how to offer money on the right events and have charitable
impulses; I must also channel my resources and thoughts towards the suitable
objectives, so that I can behave on the right grounds and on the best possible
opportunities.
3.The two main moral theories of modern virtue ethics: Kant’s deontological ethics and
Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarianism are also great ideas to ponder upon. Most of the
traditional ethical concepts could not satisfy the intense challenges of applied ethics to
solve moral dilemmas associated with science and technological use in our time. This
includes matters regarding gene technology, cloning, eugenic sterilization, abortion and
or genetically enhanced humans. These theories are relevant and helpful in anchoring
the modern advances to ethical considerations.