The Good Life According to

Aristotle and Other

Philosophies

Objective

Examine what meant by good life

Identify how humans attempt to attain what is

deemed to a good life and

Recognize possibilities available to human

being to attain the good life.

The Good Life

Everyone is in pursuit of the good life. We do

certain things because we want to achieve a life
which will make us happy and content.

People’s definition of good life may vary and

differ in the particulars. In general, we recognize
universal truths that cuts our differences.

The Good Life According To

Ancient Thinking

In Ancient Greece, long before the word

“science” has been coined, the need to
understand the world and reality was bound
with the need to understand the self and the
good life.

For Plato, the task of understanding the things

in the world runs parallel with the job of truly
getting into what will make the soul flourish.

The Good Life According To

Ancient Thinking

It was Aristotle who gave definitive distinction

between the theoretical and practical
sciences.

Theoretical disciplines – “truth” is the aim

(logic, biology, physics among others)

Practical disciplines – “good” is the end goal

(ethics and politics)

Plato

Thought that things in this world are not real

and copies of the real in the world of form

The world is constantly undergoing change.

Change is a process and as a phenomenon
that happens in the world.

World of Forms and World of Matter

describe a basic duality in all existence, between

the essence or "whatness" of a thing (form) and
the stuff that the thing is made of (matter)

World of Matter – things are changing and

impermanent

World of Forms – the entities are only copies of

the ideal, and the models and the “form” are
the only real entity.

Aristotle on Happiness

Aristotle on Happiness

Aristotle believes that all forms of imbalance

won’t bring a person to the highest form of
happiness or “eudaimonia” (eu=good,
daimon=spirit)

In order to achieve “eudaimonia” one must

religiously apply moderation- or what he
called as “Golden Mean”

Aristotle on Morality

Aristotle (Virtue Ethics) said that a virtue is a trait

of character manifested in habitual action.

The word “habitual” here is important.

E.g.

The virtue of honesty, for example, is not

possessed by someone who tells the truth only
occasionally or only when it benefits her. The
honest person is truthful as a matter of course;
her actions “spring from a firm and unchangeable
character.”

Aristotle on Morality

Vices are also traits of character manifested in

habitual action.

The other part of the definition is evaluative:

virtues are good, whereas vices are bad.

A virtue is a commendable trait of character

manifested in habitual action.
Aristotle on Morality

TOO LITTLE

TOO MUCH

MEAN

COWARDICE

RASHNESS

COURAGEOUS

MISERLY

EXTRAVAGANT

LIBERAL

STARVATION

GLUTTONY

TEMPERANCE

COSTLY

GREEDY

GENEROSITY

Why Are the Virtues Important?

We said that virtues are traits of character

that are good for people to have.

This raises the question of why the virtues are

good.

Why should a person be courageous,

generous, honest, or loyal?

The answer may depend on the virtue in

question.

Why Are the Virtues Important?

Courage is good because we need it to cope with

danger.

Generosity is desirable because there will always

be people who need help.

Honesty is needed because without it relations

between people would go wrong in all sorts of
ways.

Loyalty is essential to friendship; friends stand by

one another even when others would turn away.

Other Philosophical Views on the

Good Life
Different Schools of Thought

Hedonism

Stoicism

Materialism

Theism

Humanism

Hedonism

Pleasure has always been the priority of

hedonists. For them 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 goal of life is living in agreement with

nature.”

-Zeno of Citium

What is Stoicism?

Stoicism was another important Hellenistic

philosophy that was transported to Rome

Stoicism was founded in Greece by Zeno of

Cyprus (334–262 B.C.E.), who used to preach
to his students from a portico, or stoa (hence
the term “stoicism,” literally, “porchism”)

What is Stoicism?

What is Stoicism?

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy

that flourished throughout the Roman and
Greek world until the 3rd century AD

Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of

personal ethics which is informed by its
system of logic and its views on the natural
world

Stoicism and Happiness

According to its teachings, as social beings, the

path to happiness for humans is found in
accepting that which we have been given in
life, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled
by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain,
by using our minds to understand the world
around us and to do our part in nature's plan,
and by working together and treating others
in a fair and just manner

Stoicism and Happiness

Everyone is a part of the same common sense

or “logos”.

There exists a universal rightness or the

“Natural Law”

It teaches that nothing happens accidentally,

everything happens through necessity

In order to achieve happiness, one must have

self-control and accept his/her fate

Materialism

Materialism can refer either to the simple

preoccupation with the material world, as
opposed to intellectual or spiritual concepts,
or to the theory that physical matter is all
there is.

This theory is far more than a simple focus on

material possessions.

Materialism

It states that everything in the universe is

matter, without any true spiritual or
intellectual existence.

Materialism can also refer to a doctrine that

material success and progress are the highest
values in life.

This doctrine appears to be prevalent in

western society today.
Materialism

An example of materialism is explaining love

in terms of material things.

Another example of materialism is valuing a

new car over friendships.

Theism

Theism, the view that all limited or finite

things are dependent in some way on one
supreme or ultimate reality of which one may
also speak in personal terms.

Philosophical theism is the belief that a deity

exists (or must exist) independent of the
teaching or revelation of any particular
religion. It represents belief in a personal God
entirely without doctrine.

Theism and Happiness

Union of soul with the supreme being is the

ultimate source of happiness.

E.g.
Buddhism = Nirvana

Catholics = Salvation and Eternal life

Hinduism = Dharma and Moksha

Humanism

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical

stance that emphasizes the value and agency
of human beings, individually and collectively,
and generally prefers critical thinking and
evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over
acceptance of dogma or superstition.

Humanism

Generally, however, humanism refers to a

perspective that affirms some notion of
human freedom and progress.

It views humans as solely responsible for the

promotion and development of individuals
and emphasizes a concern for man in relation
to the world.

Humanism on Happiness
Humanism is a democratic and ethical life
stance, which affirms that human beings have
the right and responsibility to give meaning
and shape to their own lives.

It stands for the building of a more humane

society through an ethic based on human and
other natural values in the spirit of reason and
free inquiry through human capabilities.

Humanistic Ideas

There are no supernatural beings.

The material universe is the only thing that

exists.

Science provides the only reliable source of

knowledge about this universe.

We only live this life - there is no after-life,

and no such thing as reincarnation.

Humanistic Ideas

Human beings can live ethical and fulfilling

lives without religious beliefs.

Human beings derive their moral code from

the lessons of history, personal experience,
and thought.

The end….