THE GOOD LIFE
List of
contents
Question Aristotle and Plato
Introduction Happiness as the goal of a good life
Nicomachean Ethics The diff erent school of thought
Eudaimonia Post Test
question
What is THE
GOOD LIFE?
introduction
• In Ancient Greece before the word “science”, the need to
understand the world and reality was bound with the need to
understand the self and the good life.
• For Plato, the task of understanding the things in the world runs
parallel with the job of truly getting into what will make the soul
flourish. (Man must seek to understand himself too.)
• According to Aristotle, “Truth” is the aim of theoretical sciences
and the “Good” is the end goal of the practical ones. (One must
find the truth about the good is before one can even try to locate
that which is good).
nicomachean
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.”
1.Instrumental Good: Good as
means of achieving something good.
2.Intrinsic Good: Good in itself.
eudaimonia
• Came from the Geek 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
• He puts everything back to the ground in claiming that this world is all there is to
it and this world is the only reality we can all access.
• There is no reality over and above what the senses can perceive. It is only by
observation of the external world that one can truly understand what reality is all
about.
• Change is a process that is inherent in things. It starts as potentially and move
forward actualities the movement also entails change.
• He extends the external world into the province of a human person and declares
that every human beings are potentialities who aspire for their actualities. Every
action that emanates from a human person is a function of the purpose or the
“telos” that the person has.
• Every human person aspires for an end which we have learned,
happiness or human flourishing.
plato
• He thought that things in this are not real and are only copies of the real in the
worlds of forms.
• Changes is so perplexing that it can only make sense if there are two realities;
the world of forms and the world of matter.
• He recognized change as a process and a phenomenon that happens in the
world, that is constant.
• He also claims that despite the reality of change, things remain to be you
despite all the changes happened.
• He was convinced that reality are full of these seemingly contrasting
manifestation of change and permanence .
two aspects of reality
WORLD OF WORLD OF MATTER
FORMS
• The entities are • Things are red in
only copies of the this world • Things are changing
ideal and the because they and impermanent.
models, and the participate in
forms are the only what it means to
be in red.
real entities.
happiness as the
goal of a good life
• In 18th century, John Stuart Mill declared the Greatest Happiness
1 Principle by saying that an action is right as far as it maximizes the
attainment of happiness for the greatest number of people.
2 • Mill said that happiness of each individual should be prioritized and
collectively dictates the kind of action that should be endorsed. when an
action benefits the greatest number of people, said action is deemed
3 ethical.
• Ethical meant to lead us to the good and happy life.
4 • Throughout the years, man has constantly struggled with the external world
in order to reach human flourishing.
5 • History has given birth to different schools of thought, all of which aimed
for the good and happy life.
materialism hedonism
• The world is made up of and is • Life is about obtaining and
controlled by the tiny indulging in pleasure because
indivisible units and the world life is limited.
called the atomos or seeds. • The mantra of this school of
• The world and also human thought is the famous, “Eat,
beings is made up of matter. Drink, and Merry for Tomorrow
• Atomos comes together we Die.” led by Epicurus.
randomly to form the world. • They do not buy any notion of
• Matter is what makes us attain afterlife just like the
happiness. materialists.
stoicism theism
• They espoused the idea that to • Most people find meaning of their
generate happiness, one must lives through God as our fulcrum
learn to distance oneself and be of existence.
apathetic. (Apatheia means to • To witness how people base their
be indifferent.) life goals and beliefs that hinged
• Happiness can only be attained on some form of supernatural
by a careful practice of apathy. reality called Heaven.
• We should adopt the fact that • The world where we are in is only
somethings are not within our just a temporary reality where we
control. The sooner we realize have maneuver around while
this the heppier we can become. waiting for the ultimate return to
the hands of God.
humanism
• The freedom of man to carve • Technology allowed us to tinker
his own destiny and to legislate our sexuality. (Medical
his own laws, free from shackles Operations, Hormones)
of a God that monitors and • Whether or not we agree with
controls. these technological
• scientists turned to technology in advancements, there are all
order to ease the difficulty of life. undertaken in the hopes of a
They are ready to confront more good life. The balance, however,
sophisticated attempts at between good life, ethics and
altering the world for the benefit technology has to be attained.
of humanity and willing to
tamper with time and space in
the name of technology.
Thank You!!!
Presented by:
Bayog, Princess Kaye C.
Enocellado, Aliyah Fiona
Igloso, Jessabel M.
BS Accountancy 1A
