Leebron James V.

Bariring Science, Technology and Society

BSME 1-2 06/28/2023
My Good Life

What is a "good life"? For me, a good life is about having enough money to spend for your
wants and needs, doing things that you like and spending time with your loved ones. Having these
things is enough for me to consider my life a "good life." But the definition of having a "good life"
for others may differ. For others, having a "good life" may mean that you must be successful, it
may also mean that you must be rich, and etc. Ultimately it is based on the person how he defines
what a “good life” is.

For me, the most important thing about a good life is having someone to spend your life
with, like a family. Being alone is miserable, even if you are an introvert, you still need company,
so having someone you can talk to and socialize with is the very first step to having a good life.
This may not necessarily mean that you must have a relationship with someone to have a good
life, you just need someone you can interact with. This may just be a friend or even better a partner
in life, having company will make your life 10x better than having none.

It is also about getting a job that I like that can sustain me and my family. Hoarding wealth
and richness are not a necessary thing, for surplus money is just something that will rot in the bank
and a lot more people may need that money than me. Having enough is just what I need to provide
for myself and my family if I will have one. Money is just for the things that you need and
sometimes for the things that you want, but it is not a source of happiness. Your family will be the
source of your happiness. My job must also be something that I like so that I will not burnout of
it. If I like the things that I do I will continue to do it for it is my passion.

These things are what constitute as having a good life, according to myself. Firstly, having
someone who can keep your company be it a friend, family, or a romantic partner. Secondly, having
a job that I like so I can continuously do it. And lastly, a moderate amount of wealth exactly for
myself and loved ones. Just these things are enough to make me happy and content with life.
 One philosopher, Aristotle, wanted to explain how we achieve this “good life.” He said that
to achieve a good life we must have 4 recipes, money and success, pleasure, reasons and virtue,
and relationships. Having a balance of these 4 things will make a person’s life a “good life.” But
according to him the most important recipe out of these 4 things is reasons and virtue. Reasons
and Virtues are the things that dictate the good from the bad, it dictates a person’s character. It
controls how a person does things and how they react. So according to Aristotle even if you don’t
have all the other 3 recipes, just having a good reason and virtue will be enough for a good life.

But if reasons and virtue is the most important thing what is the next highest good? For me
it will be relationships. Humans are social creatures that cannot live without socializing with
another person. That’s why the saying “No Man’s an Island” was created. Relationships play a
crucial role in our lives and can greatly contribute to our overall well-being. It gives us emotional
support, companionship, and a sense of belonging. They allow us to share our experiences and
express ourselves. Through relationships, we can learn from different perspectives and develop
qualities like trust and cooperation. Meaningful connections with others provide a sense of
fulfillment and purpose in life.

So, while Aristotle emphasized the importance of reasons and virtue, I believe that
relationships are equally important for a good life. They offer us support, help us grow as
individuals, and bring us happiness and contentment. But ultimately, achieving a good life involves
finding a balance between all the 4 recipes. Some may only have some of the recipes, but they can
still be considered a good life, if they can find happiness from it. If you are happy and content with
your life I think that I can say that you have a good life.