SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

“THE GOOD LIFE”

We will talk about Aristotle. Aristotle on how we all aspire for a good life.
ARISTOTLE AND HOW WE ALL ASPIRE FOR A GOOD LIFE
Plato and Aristotle embarked on a different approach in figuring out reality.
It all started with Plato and Aristotle, in the matter of Philosophy these two embarks a different approach
in figuring out the reality.
Plato though that things in this world are not real and are only copies of the real in the world of forms.
Change is so perplexing that it can only make sense if there are two realities: the world of forms and the
world of matter.
 In the world of matter, things are changing and impermanent;
- There is no permanent and in the world of matter all are changing or the constants is change.
- For the longest time, we refused to believe that change was in the realm of possibility. We’ve
learned that change can happen quickly and at any point.
- Be aware that change can happen in your life. This means understanding that things can and
will be different from how they are now. Acknowledging change is allowing it to happen
when it unfolds instead of approaching change from a place of denial and resistance.
 In the world of forms, the entities are only copies of the ideal and the models, and the forms are
the only real entities.
- I have heard a story from someone else about Plato`s concept. I thought I might share it with
you.
- “When you use cookie cutter to make cookies, they all have the same shape like the cookie
cutter. However, they can never have the EXACT same looking as mold. Some cookies may
miss an edge here or there, whereas some may have a bit extra on them.”
- I also feel that we can never observe/comprehend the world as the way it is. Our perspectives
have limitation, and we are constantly restrained by the very little we know. The world itself
is like the “cookie cutter”, which we don`t have access to unfortunately. By looking carefully
at those “imperfect” cookies, we might have some primitive ideas about what the mold itself
could look like. 

These are the two pioneers, Plato and Aristotle. Actually class, Aristotle is a student of Plato.
Aristotle forwarded the idea that there is no reality over and above what the senses can perceive, claiming
that this world is all there is to it and that this world is the only reality we can all access.
This is the idea of Aristotle. What we perceived by our senses is the only reality or truth. Each individual
has his or her own perception of reality. The implication is that because each of us perceives the world
through our own eyes, reality itself changes from person to person.
 Declares that even human beings are potentialities who aspires for their actuality.
- An aspiration is not just a big goal in life that you hope to achieve. It is actually about
becoming the person you are meant to be. It is about changing your identity. It is a way of life
that gives you meaning and purpose.
 Every action that emanates from human person is a function of the purpose (telos) that the person
has.
- The Greek word telos refers to the fulfillment, completion, or perfection of something, and
these ideas are involved in the notion of teleology. On Aristotle’s view, all creatures, things,
and activities have a final end, goal, or purpose, and each thing aims at some good. There are
different goods, corresponding to the different creatures, arts, or sciences, and some ends are
subordinate to other, more ultimate ends. For example, the immediate end of a particular
medicine might be to reduce a fever, but the ultimate end or good at which the physician aims
is health. Likewise, the manufacture of equipment for cavalry horses is the end of a certain
craft, but this end is subordinate to the more comprehensive end of conducting warfare
efficiently and effectively.
 Every human person, according to Aristotle, aspires for an end. This end is happiness or human
flourishing.
 Claims that happiness is the be all and end all of everything that we do.
- We may not realize it but the end goal of everything that we do is happiness.
 Human flourishing, a kind of contentment in knowing that one is getting the best out of life
- When Aristotle claims that we want to be happy, he does not necessarily mean the everyday
happiness that we obtain when we win a competition or we eat our favorite dish in a
restaurant. What Aristotle actually means is human flourishing, kin of contentment in
knowing that one is getting the best out of life.

WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE?

Aristotle

 According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime,
all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to the perfection of human
nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make choices, some of which may
be very difficult.
- Aristotle viewed the good life as a life of relationships. It is man’s nature to seek good life
with and for others rather than experiencing it by himself. He further elucidated the idea of
relating the essence of happiness to achieving well-being and experiencing good life.
 - According to Aristotle, the goal of a happy life is action itself, aiming to reach Eudaimonia.
For Aristotle, Eudaimonia represents the ultimate goal. Every activity is performed for a
certain target, which is rated individually as good and makes the best life to an active
approach.

MARTIN HEIDEGGER

 A different view on the aspect of life was also presented by an existentialist philosopher, Martin
Heidegger who dealt more on how we live an “authentic life” rather dealing with the “good life”.
- For Heidegger, living an authentic life means living with deep acceptance on the facticity of
“death” and resulting to a “life lived according to what it has clearly decided as its meaning
and purpose.”
- According to Martin, the meaning of life is to live authentically. and the authentic is
managing your life for your own will not base on society. People should live authentically by
accepting death, experimenting with life by exploring all its possibilities and taking
responsibility for their actions.
- Heidegger believed that becoming better is a choice we make ourselves, which is the first
step to authenticity.

THE TEN GOLDEN RULES

1. Examine life, engage life with vengeance; always search for new pleasures and new
destinies with your mind.
- Living life is about examining life through reason which is nature’s greatest gift to
humanity. Reason lets human beings participate in life; to be human is to think,
appraise, and explore the world, discovering new sources of material and spiritual
pleasure.
- The importance of reason in sensing and examining life is evident in all phases of
life-- from the infant who strains to explore its new surroundings to the grandparent
who actively reads and assesses the headlines of the daily paper.

2. Worry only about the things that are in your control, the things that can be influenced and
changed by your actions, not about the things that are beyond your capacity to direct or alter.
- Since people cannot control all of the outcomes they seek in life, they certainly can control
the responses to these outcomes which lies to their potential for a life that is both happy and
fulfilled.
- The victims of a natural disaster, a major illness or an accident may not be able to recover and
live their lives the way they used to, but they too can save themselves the self-torment.    In
other words, while we cannot control all of the outcomes we seek in life, we certainly can
control our responses to these outcomes and herein lies our potential for a life that is both
happy and fulfilled.

3. Treasure friendship, the reciprocal attachment that fills the need for affiliation.
 - Friendship cannot be acquired in the marketplace but must be nurtured and treasured in
relations imbued with trust and amity.
- Gods and animals do not have this kind of need but for humans it is an indispensable aspect
of the life worth living because one cannot speak of a completed human identity, or of true
happiness, without the associative bonds called “friendship.” No amount of wealth, status, or
power can adequately compensate for a life devoid of genuine friends.

4. Experience true pleasure.

- Avoid shallow and transient pleasures. Keep your life simple. Seek calming pleasures that
contribute to peace of mind. True pleasure is disciplined and restrained.

5. Master yourself.
- Resist any external force that might delimit thought and action. Stop deceiving yourself,
believing only what is personally useful and convenient. Complete liberty necessitates a
struggle within, a battle to subdue negative psychological and spiritual forces that preclude a
healthy existence. Self-mastery requires ruthless candor
- Students also deceive themselves believing that they can pass a course without studying, and
end up blaming their professors for their eventual failure. Patients also deceive themselves
that they can be cured with convenient “alternative medicines,” which do not involve the
restrictive lifestyle of conventional methods.

6. Avoid excess.
- Live life in harmony and balance. Avoid excesses. Even good things pursued or attained
without moderation can become a source of misery and suffering.

7. Be a responsible human being.

- Approach yourself with honesty and thoroughness. Maintain a kind of spiritual hygiene. Stop
the blame-shifting for your errors and shortcomings. Be honest with yourself and be prepared
to assume responsibility and accept consequences.
- Very few individuals are willing to hold themselves accountable for the errors and mishaps
that inevitably occur in life.  
- How many times does the average person say something like, “It really wasn’t my fault. If
only John or Mary had acted differently then I would not have responded as I did.” Cop-outs
like these are the standard reaction for most people. They reflect an infinite human capacity
for rationalization, finger-pointing, and denial of responsibility. Unfortunately, this penchant
for excuses and self-exemption has negative consequences. People who feed themselves a
steady diet of exonerating fiction are in danger of living life in bad faith — more, they risk
corrupting their very essence as a human being.

8. Don’t be a prosperous fool.

- Prosperity by itself is not a cure-all against an ill-led life and may be a source of dangerous
foolishness. Money is necessary but not a sufficient condition for the good life for happiness
and wisdom.
- Prosperity has different meanings to different people. For some, prosperity is about the
accumulation of wealth in the form of money, real estate and equities. For others, prosperity
is about the accumulation of power and the achievement of status that comes with
 appointment to business or government positions. In either case, prosperity requires wisdom:
the rational use of one’s resources and in the absence of such wisdom, Aeschylus was correct
to speak of prosperous fools.

9. Don’t do evil to others.

- Evildoing is a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too quickly resorted to and too easily justified
that has a lasting and damaging effect upon the quest for the good life. Harming others claims
two victims – the receiver of the harm and the victimizer, the one who does harm.
- Contemporary society is filled with mixed messages when it comes to the treatment of our
fellow human beings. The message of the Judaeo-Christian religious heritage, for instance, is
that doing evil to others is a sin, extolling the virtues of mercy, forgiveness, charity, love, and
pacifism.
- Modern society is a competitive, hard-bitten environment strongly inclined to advocate self-
advantage at the expense of the “other.” Under these conditions, it is not surprising that
people are often prepared to harm their fellow human beings. These activities are frequently
justified by invoking premises such as “payback,” “leveling scores,” or “doing unto others,
before they can do unto you.” 

10. Kindness towards others tends to be rewarded.

- Kindness to others is a good habit that supports and reinforces the quest for the good life.
Helping others bestows a sense of satisfaction that has two beneficiaries – the beneficiary, the
receiver of the help, and the benefactor, the one who provides the help.
- Many of the world’s great religions speak of an obligation to extend kindness to others. But
these deeds are often advocated as an investment toward future salvation — as the admission
ticket to paradise.
- That’s not the case for the ancient Greeks, however, who saw kindness through the lens of
reason, emphasizing the positive effects acts of kindness have not just on the receiver of
kindness but to the giver of kindness as well, not for the salvation of the soul in the afterlife,
but in this life. Simply put, kindness tends to return to those who do kind deeds

FIVE ‘SCHOOL OF THOUGHT’

1. Materialism (Democritus and Leucippus).

- Matter is what makes attain happiness. For most people, material wealth would seem to be
the primary source of the meaning of their existence.
- Materialism, which is the tendency to believe that consumer goods and services provide the
greatest source of satisfaction in life (Belk, 1985), could also explain some of the cultural
differences in happiness. Research on materialism and happiness has consistently shown that
materialistic people are less happy.

2. Hedonism (Epicurus).
- Life is about obtaining and indulging in pleasure because life is limited and does not buy the
notion of afterlife. Their famous mantra is, ‘Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.’

3. Stoicism (Epicurus).
- To generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic. In this world, we
should adopt the fact that some things are not within our control.
 - it teaches us to stay calm when faced with unexpected difficult situations. We should, in this
worldview, adopt the fact that some things are not within our control. The sooner we realize
this, the happier we can become.

4. Theism.
- The ultimate basis of happiness for theist is the communion with God. Most people find the
meaning of their lives using God as the fulcrum of their existence.
- The world where we have to go maneuver around while
waiting for the ultimate return to the hands of God.

5. Humanism.
- This school of thought espouses the freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to legislate
his laws, free from the shackles of God to monitor and control. For humanists, man is the
captain of his own ship. They see themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as
individuals who are in control of themselves and the world outside them.
- Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural
beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that
aspire to the greater good. Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired
by art, and motivated by compassion.
- A humanist might answer that the good and worthwhile life is a life that feels meaningful and
fulfilling to the one living it. Perhaps, then, when thinking how we should live, we should
simply do what makes us happy.