LADY JOY T.

RANJO BS-CRIM IA STS

TOPIC: THE GOOD LIFE

1. What is Good Life as Perceived by different schools of thought

a. Materialism
 Materialists were the atomists in Ancient Greece. Democritus and Leucippus led
a school whose primary belief is that the world is made up of and is controlled
by the tiny indivisible units in the world called atoms or seeds. For them, the
world, including human beings, is made up of matter. As such, only material
entities matter. In terms of human flourishing, matter is what makes us attain
happiness.
b. Hedonism
 The hedonists, for their part, see the end goal of life in acquiring pleasure. For
them, pleasure has always been the priority; and life is about obtaining and
indulging in pleasure because life is limited. Hedonists strongly believe in the
quote “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” This philosophy, just like
materialism, rejects the notion of afterlife.
c. Stoicism
 The school of thought led by Epicurus, the stoics espoused the idea that in order
to be happy one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic, it means to be
indifferent. For everyone should adopt the fact that some things are not within
our control. The sooner we realize this, the happier we can become.
d. Theism
 The ultimate basis of happiness for theists is the communication with God. They
find meaning of their lives using God as a fulcrum of their existence. 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. They believe
in afterlife.
e. Humanism
 Humanism espouses 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. For them, man is the holds the steering wheel as captain of his own
ship. This is the spirit of most scientists who thought that the world is a place
and space for freely unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how to
improve the lives of inhabitants.
 2. Using the table below, list down the different advantages and disadvantages of the different
schools of thought in attaining good life and happiness.

Schools of Thought Advantages Disadvantages

a. Materialism •Having such •Materialist people tend to care

possessions for a materialistic less about the environment and
person means achieving life other people. It makes people to
goals like happiness, success and develop negative feelings such as
desirability. selfishness, lust, jealous, envy,
• Being desirous of things could and hopelessness
make them to • Some study shows that
have greater achievements, not materialistic people are generally
only on material things (mainly) less happy and less grateful in
but also on other things that they life.
want in life. •They experience more negative
• They are active customers in emotions and fewer positive
the market which means that ones that's they are more prone
they contribute more to the to anxiety disorders, depression
economic progress of the and other related illnesses.
country.

b. Hedonism •This idea only focuses on • Never ever think about or

maximum happiness and consider investing on his future.
minimum pain of an individual. • Addiction and excessive
One type of it, the Hedonistic consumption of alcohols and
Utilitarianism has this theory other drugs are bad for
which states that the right action hedonist's health.
is the one that produces the • Some bad habits that could give
greatest net happiness for all hedonist pleasure like drinking
concerned. alcoholic beverages and even
•Some things which can give taking prohibited drugs make
pleasure are good for one's them short-lived.
health like when a glass of wine, •There can be exploitation of
which actually contains resources in times of great need.
antioxidant flavonoid and have a It makes people to develop
protective effect against heart greed.
disease.
•It promotes consumerism which
contributes to economic
progress.

c. Stoicism • Stoics can be affectionate and Dealing problem and pain on

reflective of their own selves. their own can be hard for stoics
•They have self-control and because they are more likely to
being calm makes them stay out fight alone without seeking the
of fights and quarrels. help of others.
•They love to be at peace by • They seemed to be emotionless
 themselves and enjoy to be and blank because they are not
alone. that comfortable to display their
feelings.
d. Theism •Theists see their life as a life of •Their own conception about the
purpose. They have quite an true God clashed with others and
honest conception and view of this could bear wars. Sometimes
their own character and own because of problems that would
mistakes. come into their faces, they would
•Knowing that they have a God, feel like God is the reason for it.
there will always be someone at •They would blame and think
their side in times of despair. that God was never by their side.
•They are full of inspirations They are sensitive to deeper
towards good causes that are meanings of life which is not
usually bound by the idea of always accepted by the society
sowing good and reaping good. because religions differ in
traditions and beliefs.
e. Humanism •In here, the free will of an •Humanists are not theistic. They
individual is the only impetus for don't care about God nor believe
them to act on their own way. It in supernatural matters.
focuses on the individual as a •Possibilities would be: if people
human being. don't believe in god, there's
•They have a strong self- nothing to prevent someone
value. from: committing a crime.
• They have morals which refer
to the principle of an individual
regarding right and wrong

3. What is the relationship between good life and science?

• Science simply makes our living be productive and more efficient.
Science is one of humankind’s blessings. It has had a significant part
in enhancing the standard of living of mankind. Observing the magic
and importance of science, we can say that it has a vast use in all
fields of human life. It is of great importance to make our life easier.
It gives an answer to all curiosities related to life. It gives wings to
our imagination by its facts and theories.

4. Does technology always lead us to the good life? Support your answer.
• It is true that technology improves our living condition but not all
times because when we always depend on technology sadly it
reduces human effort, it would imply that more work is done by
machines. This equates to less work for people: the human is
becoming ever so obsolete by the day, as processes become
automated and jobs are made redundant. The negative impact of
the influence of technology on children should not be
underestimated as well.