The Good Life

Happiness – the end goal of life

Plato vs Aristotle

Plato Aristotle
- Thought that things in this world are not real and copies - Claims that this world is all there is to it and that this
of the real world is the only reality we can all access

- The world is constantly undergoing change. - Change is a process that is inherent in things.
Potentialities (seed)  actualities (plant)

- World of Forms and World of Matter - There is no reality over and above what the senses can
describe a basic duality in all existence, between the perceive
essence or "whatness" of a thing (form) and the stuff
that the thing is made of (matter) Declares that human beings are potentialities who
aspire for their actuality.
World of Matter – things are changing and permanent Every human being moves according to some end.
Every action that emanates from a human person is
World of Forms – the entities are only copies of the function of the purpose that the person has.
ideal, and the models and the “form” are the only real
entity. - Claims that happiness is the be all and the end all of
- everything that we do. End goal is happiness.
- Happiness is the grand motivating force.

Every human person aspire for an end. Happiness or

human flourishing, a kind of contentment in knowing
that one is getting the best out life. The good life. A kind
of feeling that one has maxed out his potentials in the
world, that he has attained the crux of his humanity.

Greatest Happiness Principle - John Stuart Mill (18th century, British philosopher
- An action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for the greatest number of people.
When an action benefits the greatest number of people, said action is deemed ethical.
- Individual happiness of each individual should be prioritized and collectively dictates the kind of action
that should be endorsed
- The ethical, meant to lead us to the good and happy life.

Through the ages, man has struggled with the external world in order to reach human flourishing, thus history has given birth to
different school of thought, all of which aim for the good and happy life.

Different Schools of Thought

1. Materialism
- Democritus and Leucippus(Greece) led a school whose primary belief is that the world is made up of and is
controlled by the tiny indivisible units called atomos or seeds.
- According to them, the world and human itself is made up of matter. As such only material entities matter.
- In terms of Human Flourishing, matter is what makes us attain happiness. Most people who are clinging on to
material wealth as the primary source of the meaning of their existence.

2. Hedonism – “the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence”; “hedone” greek word for pleasure
- See the end goal of life in acquiring pleasure.
- Life is about obtaining and indulging in pleasure because life is limited.
 - Their mantra: “"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"

3. Stoicism – 301 BC
- The idea that to generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic(indifferent). We should
adopt the fact that some things are not within out control. The sooner we realize this, the happier we can
become.

* According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting this moment as it presents itself,
by not allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by using our minds to understand the world
around us and to do our part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly. To live a good life, one had to
understand the rules of the natural order since they taught everything was rooted in nature.

4. Theism – belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in one god as creator of the universe, intervening in it and
sustaining a personal relation to his creatures.
- Catholic country, is witness to how people base their life goals on beliefs that hinged on some form of
supernatural reality called heaven. The world where we are in is only just a temporary reality where we have to
maneuver around while waiting for the ultimate return to the hands of God.
- Thus, the ultimate basis of happiness is the communion with God.

5. Humanism - term was coined by theologian Friedrich Niethammer( a Bavarian commissioner) at the beginning of the 19th century
- the freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to legislate his own laws, free from the shackles of a God that
monitors and controls.
- Man is the captain of his own ship
- Inspired by the enlightenment in 17th century, humanist see themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as
individuals who are in control of themselves and the world outside them

- humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human freedom and progress. It views humans as
solely responsible for the promotion and development of individuals and emphasizes a concern for man in relation to
the world

- the world is a place and space for freely unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how to improve the lives of
its inhabitants

As a result of the motivation of the humanist current, scientist eventually turned to technology in order to ease the difficulty of life.
Scientist of today are ready to confront more sophisticated attempts at altering the world for the benefit of humanity.
Some people now are willing to tamper with time and space in the name of technology.
For example:
Social media
Internet
Smart phones

Technology allowed us to tinker with our sexuality.

Example: sexual reassignment, breast implants, injection of hormones.

Whether or not we agree with these technological advancements, these are all undertaken in the hopes of attaining the good life. The
balance, however, between the good life, ethics, and technology has to be attained.