Module 6

Living a good life is what everyone aims. A life that satisfies and fulfills where there is joy,
happiness and sense of purpose. Living a good life is living a happy life. It is dependent on how we
make choices. Though everyone had different views on what makes them happy, one should consider
that they coexist with other human beings. Advancement in Science and Technology could lead to a
good life. But we have to be aware that these progress could also bring about disadvantages when
misused.

The Good Life

People’s definition of the good life may vary and differ in the particulars (McNamara, D.,et.al. 2018).
A good life is when you are able to take out time for yourself and enjoy the small pleasures of life. A
good life is also when everyday teaches you something new, something that cheers up your soul. Or it
can be when you readily accept criticism and work towards improving yourself.

The good life is a term for the life that one would like to live, or for happiness (McNamara, D.,et.al.
2018).

Aristotle argued that as we mature, we act less aimlessly and more purposefully. We try to develop a
plan for living that unites all our various purposes. Without a plan for living, we don’t know what we are
trying to do or why we’re trying to do it. Moreover, not just any plan will do—we need the right plan,
which is one that aims at the final or ultimate end. But what is the final end of human life, the end that
all of us ought to aim at?

For Aristotle, the final end of human life is to flourish, to live well, to have a good life. All actions
should aim at this end. Of course, in order to live at all we need food, clothing, and shelter, but living is
itself the means to the end of living well. And what is living well a means to? Aristotle says that living
well is the final end for humans; it is not a means to anything else. Aristotle thinks this is obvious
because few people want to live poorly.

But now another question arises: don’t different people have different ideas about what a good life is?
For some it may consist of accumulating wealth; for others, it is having power or being famous or
experiencing pleasure. And if people construe the good life differently, if they have different desires,
how can there be one right plan for living well? How can there be one final end that we all ought to
seek?

Is Aristotle’s explanation of good life still applicable in the contemporary world?

For Aristotle, happiness is a final end/goal that encompasses the totality of one’s life. It is not
something that can be gained/lost in a few hours like pleasurable sensations. It is more like the
ultimate value of your life as lived up to this moment measuring how well you have lived up to your full
potential as a human being. Further he explained, for as it is not one fine day that makes a spring, so it is
not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy (Nicomachean Ethics, 1098a18). This
is associated with Aristotle’s eudaimonia in his Nicomachean Ethics. Eudaimonia is a term that means
happiness and is a central aim of stoic philosophy (retrieved from lectures during the second GE 1
training, May 2017)
Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics stated that “if… we take the characteristic activity of a human
being to be a certain kind of life; and if we take this kind of life to be activity of the soul and actions in
accordance with reason… and a characteristic activity to be accomplished well when it is
accomplished in accordance with the appropriate virtue; then if this is so, human good turns out to be
activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.” Therefore, happiness defines a good life. (McNamara,
D., et. al., 2018).

Key Points:

The good life is a term for the life that one would like to live, or for happiness

Associated with Aristotle’s eudaimonia (in his Nicomachean Ethics)

Eudaimonia is a term that means happiness and is a central aim of stoic philosophy

According to Aristotle, happiness is the ultimate end of human action (McNamara, D., et. al., 2018)

Happiness is consists in achieving, through the course of a lifetime, all the goods – health, wealth,
knowledge, friends, etc. leading to perfection of human nature and enrichment of human life.

Happiness Ranking

The World Happiness Report 2018 ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by
the happiness of their immigrants.

The main focus of this year's report, in addition to its usual ranking of the levels and changes in
happiness around the world, is on migration within and between countries. The overall rankings of
country happiness are based on the pooled results from Gallup World Poll surveys from 2015–2017, and
show both change and stability. Four countries have held the top spot in the last four reports: Denmark,
Switzerland, Norway and now Finland. All the top countries tend to have high values for all six of the key
variables that have been found to support well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support,
freedom, trust and generosity. Among the top countries, differences are small enough that year-to-year
changes in the rankings are to be expected.

The concept of happiness is the corner stone of the assumption of positive psychology.
Happiness is characterized by the experience of more frequent positive affect states than negative ones
and one is progressing toward important life goals (Tkach & Lyubomirsky,2006). Certain kinds of
environmental factors or condition have been found to be associated with happiness and it include the
following: individual income, labour market status, health, family, social relationships, moral values and
many others (Carr, 2004; Selim,2008; Diener, Oishi & Lucas, 2003).
Perspective of Happiness

In the pursuit of understanding happiness, there were two main theoretical perspectives
focusing on what makes people feel good and happy, these are eudaimonia and hedonia.

Hedonic wellbeing is based on the notion of subjective wellbeing that increased pleasure and
decreased pain leads to happiness. It comprises of an affective component (high positive affect and
low negative affect) and cognitive component (satisfaction with life) (Carruthers & Hood, 2004).

Eudaimonic wellbeing is reliant on Maslow’s ideas of self -actualization and based on

subjective wellbeing. It emphasizes that people feel happy if they experience life purpose, challenges
and growth. This adopts self-determination theory which suggests that happiness is related to
fulfilment in the areas of autonomy and competence.

Hedonia

Seek pleasure and satisfaction

Avoid pain and discomfort

Focus on self present moment

Focus on consuming what one needs and wants

Presence of positive mood

Absence of negative mood

Satisfaction with various domains of life

Global life satisfaction

Eudaimonia

Reliant on Maslow’s ideas of self actualization

Adopts self-determination theory (Keyes et.al., 2002; Deci & Ryan, 2000)

For Aristotle, ultimate happiness would be contemplation

Sense of control or autonomy

Feeling of meaning and purpose

Personal expressiveness

Feelings of belongingness

Social contribution

Competence
Personal growth

Self acceptance

Virtue and Good Life

Virtue plays a significant role in living and attainment of the good life (McNamara, D.J., et.al.,2018).
There are two kinds of virtue: intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtues are habits of thinking like
understanding the nature of things, judging the truth of matters, reasoning from a truth known from the
truth that is not known. While moral virtues come about as a result of habit (McNamara, D.J., et.al.,
2018). It is a disposition to behave in the right manner and it learned through habit and practice rather
than reasoning and instruction

The virtues that must be practice to achieve happiness (Aristotle) are:

intelligence and scientific knowledge;

practical wisdom ( the ability to deliberate well about what is good and expedient for oneself);

temperance(restraint, usually with regard to pleasurable activities);

generosity and friendship;

courage(the tendency to act in order to achieve some good even when facing the risk of physical harm)
and

contemplation(reflection on eternal truths).

Both hedonic and eudaimonic approaches view happiness in terms of the pleasant life, the good life
and the meaningful life (Norrish & Vella-Brodick, 2008).

How does one achieve happiness based on positive psychology view?

According to positive psychology , there are three pathways to happiness:

pleasure - the process of maximizing positive emotion and minimizing negative emotion – this is
referred to as pleasant life. It involves enjoyable and positive experiences.

engagement – the process of being immersed and absorbed in the task at hand and is referred to as
good life . It result from individual cultivating and investing strength and virtues into relationships, work
and leisure (Seligman. 2002). By applying the best of self during challenging activities results to growth
and feeling of competence and satisfaction thus bringing about happiness.

meaning – the process of having a higher purpose in life than ourselves - referred to as meaningful life.
It involves the use of strengths and personal qualities to this higher purpose. The combination of these
three elements suggests that it would contribute to authentic and stable happiness (Vella-Brodick, Park
& Peterson, 2009; Carruthers & Hood. 2004)
Key variable used to explain happiness differences among countries and through time

Income

Healthy life expectancy

Social support

Life events

Freedom

Trust (absence of corruption in business and government)

Happiness defines good life.

Happiness is the ultimate end of human action.

Virtue play a significant role in the living and attainment of good life.

According to positive psychology, the three pathways to happiness are pleasure, engagement and
meaning.