THE GOOD LIFE

1. explain the concept of the good life

as posited by Aristotle
2. define the good life in own words
3. Examine shared concerns that make
up the good life to come up with
innovative and creative solutions to
contemporary issues guided by
ethical standards

THE GOOD LIFE

The onward progress of science
and technology should be a
movement towards the good
life.
 Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics
“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.”

“.....both the many and the cultivated call it

happiness, and suppose that living well and
doing well are the same as being happy.”
Eudaimonia = the good life
eu = “good”
daimon = “spirit”

a good life is marked by happiness and excellence

a flourishing life filled with meaningful endeavors

that empower the human person to be the best
version of himself
Happiness is the ultimate end of human action.

Happiness defines a good life; that which comes

from living a life of virtue, a life of excellence,
manifested from the personal to the global
scale.
 Virtue plays a significant role in the
living and attainment of the good life.
It is the constant practice of the good
no matter how difficult the
circumstances may be. Virtue is the
excellence of character that empowers
one to do and be good.
Example:
Making sure that one avoids sugary and
processed foods to keep health is an activity
that expresses virtue. (this action requires
discipline and practice)
When an action benefits the greatest number of
people, said action is deemed ethical. (John Stuart Mill :
Greatest Happiness Principle)

The ethical is, of course, meant to lead us to the

good and happy life.

Ethics should be enforced in the field of technology

so as to ensure the safety and morality of these
technology to people.
Ex. Mining
 Schools of Thought
• Materialism (Democritus)
• Hedonism (Epicurus)
• Stoicism (Epicurus – apathy)
• Theism (God)
• Humanism (Freedom/Technology)
Science and Technology has been, for the most
part, at the forefront of man’s attempt at
finding this happiness.

At the end of the day, the only question is

whether science is taking the right path
toward attaining what it really means to live
a good life.
When Technology and Humanity Cross

The human person has the autonomy to make

choices which may enable the flourishing of his
self and society.

The United nations General Assembly

proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights on December 10, 1948 as the global
standard of fundamental human rights for
universal recognition and protection.
• Everyone has absolute moral worth by virtue of
being human.
• Human dignity is an ultimate core value of our
existence.
• When we fully recognize and appreciate this
truth in ourselves and in all the persons around
us, regardless of their status in life then we
pave the way for a just and progressive society
• We have to ensure that human dignity lies at
the foundation of our endeavours.
• The good life as a life of justice, demands not
just equal treatment of human beings but also
preferential treatment to those who have less
or disadvantaged.
Article 1: All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed
with reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all rights and
freedom set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction if any kind, such as race, color, sex,
language, religion, political or other status.

Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty

and security of person.

Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or

servitude; slavery and slave trade shall be
prohibited in all forms.
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or
to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition

everywhere as the person before the law.

Article 7: All are equal before the law and are

entitled without discrimination to equal
protection of the law.
In our pursuit of the good life, we should
protect and exercise human rights for
everyone.

Amid all these developments , human beings

become more free, more rational, and more
loving in our practice of science and
technology.
Why the future does not need us.
Bill Joy – Chief scientist and Corporate Executive
Officer of Sun Microsystems
Our most powerful 21st century technologies,
genetics, nanotech, and robotics (GNR), are
threatening to make humans an endangered
species. This possible extinction of the species
may largely come about due to the
unreflective and unquestioning acceptance of
new technologies by humans.
“Accustomed to living with almost routine
breakthroughs, we have yet to come to terms
with the fact that the most compelling 21st
century technologies - robotics, genetic
engineering, and nano technology, pose a
different threat than the technologies that
have come before. Specifically robots,
engineered organisms, and nanobots share a
dangerous amplifying force. They can self-
replicate. A bomb is blown only one, but one
bot can become many, and quickly get out of
control.”
Each of these technologies also offers untold
promise: The vision of near immortality drives us
forward; genetic engineering may soon provide
treatments, if not outright cures, for most
diseases; and nanotechnology and nanomedicine
can address yet more ills. Together they can
significantly extend our average lifespan ad
improve the quality of our lives. Yet with each of
these technologies, a sequence of small,
individually sensible advances leads to an
accumulation of great power and concomitantly,
great danger.”
Humans should have learned the lesson in the
atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 that killed
over a hundred thousand people.

Science technology may be the highest

expression of human rationality. People are
able to shape or destroy the world with it.
Aftermath of Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, during World
War II. The blast completely destroyed 68 percent of the city and damaged another 24
percent, and an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people were killed or reported missing,
according to United States estimates.
Encarta EncyclopediaHulton Deutsch
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
“I have felt it myself. The glitter of nuclear
weapons. It is irresistible if you come to them as a
scientist. To feel it’s there in your hands, to
release this energy that fuels the stars, to let it do
our bidding. To perform these miracles, to lift a
million tons of rocks into the sly. It is something
that gives people an illusions of illimitable power.,
and it is, in some ways, responsible for all our
troubles – this, what u might call technical
arrogance, that overcomes people when they see
what they can do with their minds.” Freeman
Dyson
Human nature may be corrupted when
the powers of our mind, our
rationality, and our science and
technology become manifest. If we
are not able to rein in the vanity and
arrogance that such powers unleash,
then we are on the way to destroying
the world.