The Good Life

Aristotle – Nichomachean Ethics

Concepts:
- Eudaimonia
- Arete

“Are we living with a good life?”

Learning Outcomes:

1. Define the idea of good life

2. Discuss Aristotle’s concept of Eudaimonia and Arete

3. Examine contemporary issues and come up with innovative and creative

solutions to contemporary issues guided by ethical standards leading to a
good life
Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics

- consists of 10 books

- originally, lecture notes written in scrolls

- believed that these were compiled or dedicated to his son, Nichomacus or to

his father who has the same name

- abbreviated as NE or EN

- Is a treatise on the nature of moral life and human happiness based on the
unique essence of human nature
NE Book 2 Chapter 2

Types of Good:

1. Instrumental good
- is a kind of good as a means to achieving something else that is good or
some other end
- is only temporary and most of the time a person still finds it
unsatisfactory and still wants to achieve something better

2. Intrinsic good or ultimate good

- is good in itself not because of something else that may result from it
- better than the instrumental good since the latter is the end in itself,
meaning a person does not have to find something else to achieve
Eudaimonia: The Ultimate Good

Pleasure?
- it is transitory--- it passes
- it does not encompass all aspects of life

Wealth?
- people say that they aim to be wealthy as it would help them achieve
some other goals
- common to hear stories of wealthy people who are unhappy with their
lives
- it is not self-sufficient and does not stop one from aiming for some
other greater good
Fame and Honor?
- they are based on the perception of others
- if one’s definition of good life is being popular or respected, then the
good life becomes elusive since it is based on the subjective views of others
Happiness: Ultimate Good

- it is living well and doing well (NE 1:4)

- eudaimonia, Greek word
- eu meaning good, daimon meaning spirit
- others translate it as human flourishing or prosperity

Hallmarks of eudaimonia:
- virtue
- excellence

Eudaimonia transcends all aspects of life for it is about living well and doing
well in whatever one does.
Eudaimonia: Uniquely Human?

Only humans are capable of a life guided by reason. Because this is so,
happiness, too, is a
uniquely human function for it can
only be achieved through a
rationally directed life.
Arete and Human Happiness

Eudaimonia is what defines the good life. To live a good life is to live a happy
life. For Aristotle, eudaimonia is only possible by living a life of virtue.

Arete, a Greek term, is defined as “excellence of any kind” and can also mean
moral value. A virtue is what makes one function well. Aristotle suggested 2
types of virtue: intellectual virtue and moral virtue.
Intellectual Virtue

- virtue of thought
- achieved through education, time and experience
- key intellectual virtues are:
1. wisdom- guides ethical behavior
2. understanding- is gained from scientific endeavors and contemplation
- wisdom and understanding are achieved through formal and non-formal
means
- intellectual virtue are acquired through self-taught knowledge and skills as
much as those knowledge and skills taught and learned in formal institutions
Moral Virtue

- virtue of character
- is achieved through habitual practice
- some key moral values are:
1. generosity
2. temperance
3. courage
- Aristotle explained that although the capacity for intellectual virtue is
innate, it is brought into completion only by practice
- moral virtue is like a skill, a skill is acquired only through repeated practice
Both intellectual virtue and moral virtue should be in accordance with reason
to achieve eudaimonia

Indifference with these virtues, for reasons that are only for one’s
convenience, pleasure or satisfaction, leads humans away from eudaimonia.

A virtue is ruined by any excess and deficiency in how one lives and acts.

A balance between 2 extremes is a requisite of virtue. It is a mean relative to

the person, circumstances and the right emotional response in every
experience.
What then is the good life?

The good life in the sense of eudaimonia is the state of being happy, healthy
and prosperous in the way one thinks, lives and acts.

The path to the good life consists of the virtues of thought and character,
which are relative mediators between the 2 extremes of excess and deficiency.

The good life is understood as happiness brought about by living a virtuous

life.
Science and Technology can be ruined by under- or over- appreciation of the
scope and function it plays in the pursuit of the uniquely human experience
of happiness.

Refusing science and technology altogether to improve human life is as

problematic as allowing it to entirely dictate reason and action without any
regard for ethical and moral standards.
Watch: That Sugar Film (2014) directed by Damon Garneau

Discuss: How the overproduction and overconsumption of

sugar-based products potentially prevent humans from
achieving eudaimonia. Is there indeed a need for industries
to regulate the production of sugar-based products and for
consumers to reduce their consumption if they are to
journey toward the good life together?
 Inspect the packaging of a food item
you regularly consume. Cut the part of the
packaging that shows the nutritional label and
paste it on a paper.

What sugar, disguised in unfamiliar

term, is found on the label? Research on the
definition and effects of the hidden sugar you
found on the label.