THE GOOD LIFE

Sumulong, Andrea Marie

Villanueva, Lorlie Mae Pamela
Wong, Mycha
Ziganay, Mae Ann
Overview
• Introduction: The Good Life by Aristotle
• Implications of The Good Life by the ff.:
– Social
– Political
– Economics
– Religious
• Aristotle
– ancient Greek philosopher
– known for his natural philosophy, logic
and political theory
• Nicomachean Ethics 2:2
• All human activities aim at some good.
Every art and human inquiry, and similarly
every action and pursuit , is thought to aim
at some good; and for this reason the good
has been rightly declared as that at which
all things aim.
• What is meant by good life?
– living in comfort and luxury with
few problems or worries.
– characterized by happiness
from living and doing well
– contentment
• What is eudamonia?
– came from the Greek word eu meaning
“good” and daimon meaning “spirit”.
– refers to the good life marked by
happiness and excellence.
– flourishing life filled with meaningful
endeavors that empower the human
person to be the best version of
himself/herself.
• Aristotle’s view of good life
– the activity of the soul in accordance
with virtue
– believed that good for humans is the
maximum realization of what was
unique to humans.
– the good for humans was to reason
well.
– The task of reason was to teach
humans how to act virtuously, and
the exercise faculties in accordance
with virtue.
• Nicomachean Ethics 2:1
– Virtue, then, being of two kinds,
intellectual and moral,
intellectual virtue in the main
owes its birth and growth in
teaching ( for its reason it
requires experience and time).
While moral virtue comes about
as a result of habit
• The Virtues: • Moral virtue
• Intellectual virtue – controlled by
practical wisdom
– theoretical wisdom
(ability to make right
(thinking of truth)
judgment)
– practical wisdom
– owed its
– understanding development to how
one nurtured it as
• Experience and time are
habit.
necessary requirements
for the development of – can be learned
intellectual virtue
• Happiness to Aristotle
• "Happiness depends on ourselves.“
– central purpose of human life and a
goal in itself
– depends on the cultivation of virtue.
– a genuinely happy life required the
fulfillment of a broad range of
conditions, including physical as well
as mental well-being.
-Science and Technology is also the
movement towards good life.
-Science and Technology are one of the
highest expressions of human faculties.
-Science and Technology allow us to
thrive and flourish if we desire it.
-Science and Technology may corrupt a
person
-Science and Technology with virtue can
Aristotle describes that the role that politics and the
political community must play in bringing about a
virtuous life in the citizenry.
Individual happiness of each individual must be prioritized
and collectively dictates the kind of action that should be
endorsed (Mill).
For humanists, "man is literally the captain of his own
ship".
Emergence of multitudes of school of thoughts that all
In Nicomachean Ethics 2:2, Aristotle provides his philosophical analysis
of human ends and means. He explains that means or instruments of
production are valuable because their end products are useful to people.
The more useful or desirable a good is, the higher the value of the
means of production is. Aristotle then goes on to derive a number of
economic ideas from axiomatic concepts including the necessity of
human action, the pursuit of ends by ordering and allocating scarce
means, and the reality of human inequality and diversity.
Aristotle explains that actions are necessarily and fundamentally singular.
For Aristotle, the individual human action of using wealth is what
constitutes the economic dimension. The purpose of economic action is

People are yearning for
something more than
possessions or chasing
relationships that may or may
not become permanent. Joni
Mitchell observed well:
“ You could have been more,
Than the name on the door of
the thirty-third floor in the
sky; More than a credit card,
Swimming pool in the
backyard.”
 Allows people to flourish; people realize that
they are tied to humanity as a whole
 Be aware of the 3 components of a good lfe:
o a sense of peace derived from knowing that
one’s life is going well in terms of its
circumstances, including physical well-
being; “life being led” — or a need to act on
behalf of oneself and others; and the sense
that life “feels right” or good. In the Judeo-
Christian traditions, he said, these could be
summed up as “peace, righteousness, and
joy.”
Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and others
are repositories of the good life. Faith focuses upon