MODULE 106

THE GOOD LIFE

Elden G. Orgela (Sorsogon State College)
 Vocabulary Lists

The Good Life. To live a life of virtues in a community and to participate in the
form of the good. To do so we must behave and fare well.

Eudemonia. Achieved through leading a life of virtues which is a life of happiness.

Difficult to translate as happiness can be confused with pleasure –could be
described as flourishing. It includes both the notion of behaving well and faring
well.

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Learning Plan

Week 10: The Good Life

Student Learning Outcomes

 Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come
up with innovative, creative solutions to contemporary issues guided
by ethical standards

Materials and Media To do for OL/B/FLEX Expected Outputs

 Course Packet  Printed Copies of  At least 200 words

Module reading materials Reflection Paper

 Reading Materials  Any available online  Short Quiz

platforms for teaching
 Journal/Article for which preferred by  Short Essay
Critiquing and the students (user
Reflection friendly)  Pretest and Posttest
(quiz/formative
 Lecture and  LMS Link provided to assessment)
Discussion thru the students
MEET Mobile
Application and other  Mobile Application for
media platforms Quizzes and
Assessment
 Quiz Link (Mobile
Apps)  Infomercial/Digital
Poster

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Pre-Assessment

LET’s See What You Already Know

Guide questions for Self-paced:

Matching Type:

1. Tension in Aristotle’s Ideas A. The life of the mind

B. Between his claims that contemplation is

2. Eudamonia the highest good and his commendation of
practical virtue

C. To live a life of virtues in a community and

3. Hannah Arendt (1958) to participate in the form of the good. To do
– Vita Contemplativa so we must behave well and fare well.

D. Achieved through leading a life of virtues

which is a life of happiness. Difficult to
4. The Good life for Aristotle translate as happiness can be confused
with pleasure –could be described as
flourishing. It includes both the notion of
behaving well and faring well.

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Suggested Time Allotment: 3-4 hours

Overview:

The main concepts of this lesson is all about the main good for a human being is reason,
since it is the characteristic human capacity. Every attempt know is connected in some way
in an attempt to find “good” or as said in the previous lesson, the attainment of human
flourishing. Let us find the truth about what the good is according to Aristotle.

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Examine what is meant by a good life:

2. Identify how humans attempt to attain what is deemed to be a good life; and

3. Recognize possibilities available to human being to attain the good life.

LET’s READ

Unit 1. Concept of Good Life in The Philosophy of Aristotle

Good life is a moral concept. So it is not possible to describe it without the analysis of
Ethical theory. Aristotle’s concept of good life can be found in the thorough study of his
ethical theory described in Nicomachean Ethics which is teleological in nature. There he
considered the nature of desire to achieve happiness, described the operation of human
volition and moral deliberation, developed a theory of each virtue as the mean between
vicious extremes, discussed the value of three kinds of friendship and defended his
conception of an ideal life of intellectual pursuit. In his ethics, Aristotle seeks to define the
guidelines for human beings to achieve happiness as a community. Aristotle declares that
all human life consists of activity. He further claims that human beings engage in these
activities to arrive at some end and this end to be good because otherwise we would not
partake in the endeavor.

Aristotle maintains that there are two types of ends-an end in itself and the other end that is
subordinate to some other activity. An end in itself, the most complete end, is considered to
be better than a subordinate end. Aristotle then declares that the most complete end that all
activity aims at is happiness, although most people disagree about what exactly happiness
is. Ethics, for Aristotle means the cultivation of habit of the soul, it is a disposition towards
the passions that is conducive to virtuous action. Ethics is not the same as morality or right
conduct.
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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

In ethical theory Aristotle discusses the condition under which moral responsibility may be
as ascribed to individual agents, the nature of virtues and vices involved in moral evaluation,
and the method of achieving happiness in human life. The central issue for Aristotle is the
question of character or personality — ‘what does it take for an individual human being to be
a good person’? He applies his idea of moderation, the golden mean in an attempt to
discover the constituents of good life and the good man. Aristotle’s good life involves a
comprehensive treatment of the question “how should we live?” This question reflects the
primacy of character, traits of individuals in Aristotle’s virtue ethics. His virtue ethics is
mainly based on the rational account of a good human life and identifies good human life
with virtuous life and virtue is conceived as human excellence. The good life therefore is the
life of excellence.

For Aristotle, the attainment of good life is the main purpose of human existence. He has an
intellectualist conception of man’s end. In his ethics there is not any close counterpart to
Christian grace and there are no theological virtues in his moral psychology and conception
of the soul. He developed a virtue centered ‘eudaemonism a theory in which human
flourishing and the virtuous activities required for it are the central concerns. He argued that
there is an intrinsic end, proper human nature, namely eudaemonia i.e. happiness and that it
is fundamentally granted in rational activity. That includes both deliberative, practical activity
and theoretical activity, intellectual activity for its own sake. Happiness is interpreted in
terms of virtuous activity and thereby connected to the excellences proper to a being with
rational nature. He argued that there are excellent activities that are pleasing because they
are good rather than the other way round and that a life shaped by these activities is a
happy life.

Actually it is eudaemonia in Aristotle’s language which is usually translated as happiness for

human flourishing. In the analysis of his treatment of human life, Aristotle is mainly
influenced by Greek cultures and Greek customs. So it is not very easy to disentangle the
Aristotelian method and attitude from the Greek culture. Aristotle is interested in
understanding life as it is and will be, rather than in the radical remolding of life. He
observed man’s life from the realistic and empirical standpoint. The very core of Aristotelian
attitude towards the conduct of man’s life is this insistence that we must start with what we
find at hand and perfect the tendencies that are actually there. His concept of good life can
be regarded as the politico-ethical life. He says that politics makes the way for the good life
of the citizens because it provides moral motivation in the form of connection between
happiness and virtue. One of the main points of Aristotle’s moral philosophy is that ethics
cannot be codified and he also believes that there is no single criterion of right action. The
central point of his moral philosophy is that of the notion of a flourishing or worthwhile life or
good life, shaped by sound habituation and well-ordered self-determination. His ethics can
be regarded as a kind of naturalism due to the fact that the proper end of human being is
intrinsic to human nature and way of realizing it is also intrinsic in nature.

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

There are different types of goods corresponding to different art or sciences. Aristotle, by
empirical investigation remarks that every activity has a final cause, the good at which it
aims. So like the predecessor he says that good is that at which all things aim. He says,
“Every art and every enquiry and similarly every action and pursuit is thought to aim at some
good, and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things
aim”.

But there are many aims, some goods are desired for its own sake and some for the sake of
others. Aristotle argues that since there cannot be an infinite regress of merely extrinsic
goods, we must presuppose intrinsic goods and if one appears to be more ultimate than the
other, this will be the highest good at which all human activity ultimately aims and this is the
final end or chief good. He says, “Goods have been divided into three classes and some are
described as external, others as relating to soul or to the body. We call those that relate to
soul must properly and truly goods, and psychical actions and activities we class as relating
to soul. Therefore our account must be sound, at least, according to this view which is an
old one and agreed on by philosophers.”

The chief good is final, (that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of
something else) self-sufficient that which (even) when isolated makes life desirable and
lacking in nothing. So the chief good is that which is final, because it is desired for its own
sake, not for the sake of something else and self-sufficient because its achievement will
leave nothing to be desired. According to Aristotle, this chief good is nothing but happiness,
which is final and self-sufficient in nature and accepted by all people and good life is happy
life. He remarks, “Such a thing happiness above all else, is held to be; for this we choose
always for self and never for the sake of something else, but honor, pleasure, reason and
every virtue we choose indeed for themselves (for if nothing resulted from them we should
still choose each of them) but we choose them also for the sake of happiness judging that
by means of them we shall be happy. Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the
sake of these, nor in general for anything other than itself.” Happiness is the pleasant state
of mind which is brought about by the habitual doing of good deeds. So according to
Aristotle, good life is the happy life. He says “happy man lives well and does well for we
have practically defined happiness as a sort of good life and good action.”

Aristotle identifies happiness with virtue, virtue belongs to virtuous activity. In Aristotle’s
ethics there is a connection between virtue and happiness. Happiness is derived through
deliberate actions and seeking of ends guided by a correct understanding of human good.
The activity is pleasing because it is caused by proper orientation of our rational capacity
and since it is good, so it is pleasing. Thus a conception of well-ordered human activity is
the basis of living well, both in the sense of an excellent and worthwhile life. His moral
theory is regarded as a form of no consequentialism because it says that moral value of
action depends upon the disposition and judgment of action rather than the consequences.
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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Regarding the meaning of happiness there is a difference between the philosophers.

Someone says that it is the life of pleasure; other says that happiness consists in the
renunciation of pleasure. But Aristotle says that happiness means the living well or doing
well. So the highest good for man is the complete and habitual exercise of the function
which makes him a human being. This is the meaning of eudemonia.

Therefore to lead a good life man as a man must do his activity habitually and completely
without any exception. In this sense we can compare his views with the Gita’s view which
says that to lead a life of Sthitaprajya man should perform his duty as duty without the
detachment of consequence. Aristotle also says that if a man performs his virtuous and
honorable activity as an organic unity of reason, passion and sensibility he would be able to
lead a good life. Reason is the form of moral life of man and other two are the matter of
moral life.

Feeling is the consequence of man’s rational activity, though it is not the guide of life. So
pleasure comes in his moral pursuit, but it cannot be the end of life. It is one of the means
for the attainment of good life. Man’s special function is reason; sensation is the special
function of animals. Man is not only rational animal but also appetitive and sensitive animal.
So other than reason, appetite and passion are also the organic parts of man’s nature as a
highest animal.

Aristotle says, “It cannot consist in merely living for plants also live, nor in having sensations
for they are shared by man with the brute creation,” it consists only in “the life of his rational
nature, with its two sides or divisions, one rational as obeying reason, the other rational as
having and exercising reason.” According to Aristotle, the rational life of man can be viewed
as a moral activity which indicates the exercise of these facilities “in a life of action under the
control of reason”, and he says, “It makes no small difference whether the good be
conceived as the mere possession of something, or as its use - as a mere habit or trained
faculty, or as the exercise of the that faculty.

Since Aristotle gives more emphasis on reason he can be regarded as a rigorist like Kant.
But a close analysis of his theory shows that though he gives much importance on rational
activity, yet he does not ignore the claim of sensibility in moral life, because he gives equal
value of pleasure with the rational activity. According to Aristotle, an action cannot be judged
as good for yielding happiness, but good actions always yield happiness. Because
happiness signifies moral activity.

Aristotle’s view gives a clear solution of hedonism according to which pleasure is the
ultimate end of life and that of rationalism, according to which reason is the guide of our life.
Because Aristotle says that morality is habitual control of passion and appetites by reason
and in doing this, pleasure and happiness necessarily result as necessary consequences.

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Activity Instruction:

1. Upon reading the article, Answer Activity 1: Reflection Paper

Guide Question:
What do you think are the challenges that the modern society (as we have now) pose
that prevent us in living our best lives? Does Science and Technology (as we are
experiencing now) contributes to our living our best lives and in attaining happiness? Or
does it not? Why?

2. If you are attending online class, send your output at STS Google Classroom by “Turning
In” under section Module 106 Lesson 6: Activity -1 on or before the scheduled deadline.

3. Upon completion of Activity 1, you are able to proceed to Unit 2. Akiro Kurosawa’s
Dreams: Village of the Water Mills

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

READ MORE

Unit 2. Akiro Kurosawa’s Dreams: Village of the Water Mills

Reading Guide for Self-Paced

Village of the Watermills by Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams

A Transcription by: Woz Choi – 2015

“Good Day” Girls & boys said to Akira

“Good Day” Akira responded smiling. The children picked up flowers and left them on stone
at the edge of the river. Akira continued walking towards the village. He saw an old man
working on his waterwheel, building it primitively.
“Good Day” Akira said. But no respond!
“Good Day!” Akira said with raising his voice.
“Good day” the old man responded.
“What is the name of this village?” Akira asked
“Does not have one”
“We just call it The Village”
“Some people call it Watermill Village.”
“Do all the villagers live here?” Akira asked
“No”
“The live in other places.”
“There is no electricity here!” Akira curiously asked
“Do not need it”
“People get too used to convenience. They think convenience is better.”
“They throw out what is truly good.”
“But what about lights” Akira said
“We have got candles and linseed oil.”
“But nights so dark!” Akira said
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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

“Yes! That is what night is supposed to be.”

Why should night be as bright as day?”
“I would not like nights so bright you could not see the stars.”
“You have paddies” Akira responded “But no tractors to cultivate them? he continued.
“Do not need them” the old man responded while working on his waterwheel.
“We have get cows and horses.”
“What do you use for fuel?” Akira asked
“Firewood mostly.”
“We do not feel right chopping down trees but enough fall down by themselves.”
“We cut them up and use them as firewood.”
“And if you make charcoal from the wood just a few trees can give you as much heat as a
whole forest.”
“Yes, and cow dung makes good fuel, too.”
“That is the natural way of life.”

“People today forgotten they are really just a part of nature. Yet, they destroy the nature on
which our lives depend. They always think they can make something better. Especially
scientists. They may be smart, but most do not understand the heart of nature. They only
invent things that in the end make people unhappy.

Yet, they are so proud of their inventions. What is worse, most people are, too. They view
them as if they were miracles. They worship them. They do not know it, but they are losing
nature. They do not see that they are going to perish. The most important things for human
beings are clean air and clean water and trees and grass that produce them. Everything is
being dirtied. Polluted forever. Dirty air, dirty water, dirtying the heart of men.

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

“On my was to here, I happened to see some children putting flowers on a stone beside the
bridge.” Akira said “Why?” he continued.

“Oh, that”Long ago a sick traveller died by the bridge. The villagers took pity and buried him
right there. They placed a large stone on his tomb and put flowers on it. So, it became a
custom to put flowers there. Not only the children. All the villagers put flowers there as they
pass though most do not know why.”

“Is there a celebration today?” Akira asked after hearing sound of celebration through
distance.

“No, funeral.”
“You find this strange?”

“A nice, happy funeral. It is good to work hard and live long and then be thanked.”
“We have no temple or priest here. So all the villagers carry the dead to teh cemetry on the
hill. We do not like it when young adults or children die. It is tough celebrate such a loss. But
fortinately the people of this village lead a natural way of life. So they pass on at a ripe old
age. The woman we are buring today lived ninety-nine. You must excuse me but I am going
to joing the procession.”

“To tell you the trust, she was my first love. But broke my heart and left me for another. ha
ha ha ha ha.”
Akira kep on smiling by hearing his last message.
“By the way, how old are you?” Akira asked.
“Me?”
“One hundred pluss three. A good age to stop living. Some say life is hard. That is just talk.
In fact, it’s good to be alive. It is exciting.”
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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Video Link for Online Access

1. Please watch the video on Akiro Kurosawa’s Dreams: Village of the Water Mills at the
youtube link below:

1. https://vimeo.com/31359086
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK4mtPQ_THM

2. Upon reading the transcription and/or watching the video, Answer Activity 2. Akiro
Kurosawa’s Dreams: Village of the Water Mills

Activity 2. Akiro Kurosawa’s Dreams: Village of the Water Mills

Guide Questions:
1. What is “The Good Life?” Is our personal concept of the “the good life” the same as
what was depicted in the film?

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 LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Guide Questions:
2. Which part of the film struck you most? Why?

3. Based on the short film, discuss how technology reveals nature and the human
person’s role in it.

3. If you are attending online class, send your output at STS Google Classroom by
“Turning In” under section Module 106 Lesson 6: Activity -2 on or before the scheduled
deadline.

4. Upon completion of Activity 2, you are able to proceed to Post-Assessment.

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Post-Assessment

LET’S SEE WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED

Guide Question:

Every day for a week, record all the activities you engage in, and whether they are
means to ends or ends in themselves. Begin by dividing a sheet of paper into two
columns. On the left write down a description of the activity, and on the right M for
means and E for end. If it is a means, what is the end it aims at? You can identify the
end by asking ‘why?’ until you have reached something that you want for its own sake.

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 References

1. Macaro, A., 2005. Aristotle and the Good Life. Practical Philosophy

2. https://vimeo.com/31359086

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK4mtPQ_THM

4. Sefarica, J.P.J., et. al. 2017. Science, Technology, and Society. First Edition. Rex Book
Store, Inc. (RBSI), 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr., Sampaloc, Manila/Tel.

5. Woz Choi – 2015, Village of the Watermills by Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Key to Corrections

Pre-assessment 6

Matching Type:

1. B
2. D
3. A
4. C

Activity 1: Reflection Paper

1. Please be guided by the rubrics for reflection writing attached in this module.

Activity 2: Akiro Kurosawa’s Dreams: Village of the Water Mills

1. Please be guided by the rubrics for essay writing attached in this module.

Post-Assessment 6

1. Please be guided by the rubrics for essay writing attached in this module.

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Activity Rubrics

Rubrics for Essay Writing

Needs
Excellent (5) Very Good (4) Average (3) Improvement Unacceptable (1)
(2)
The writer is As yet, the idea has
beginning to no clear sense of
The idea is clear The idea is Topic is not
define the purpose or central
and focused. mostly focused, well-defined
topic, even theme. The reader
Ideas Relevant details and has some and/or there
though must make
and quotes enrich good details are too many
development inferences based
the central theme. and quotes. topics.
is still basic or on sketchy or
general. missing details.
Sentences are The reader has to
The writing The text hums The text
well built, with practice quite a bit
mostly flows, along with a seems choppy
Sentence strong and varied in order to give this
and usually steady beat, and is not
Fluency structure that paper a fair
invites oral but tends to easy to read
invites expressive interpretive
reading. be flowery. orally.
oral reading. reading.

The form and The writer's

The format only The reader
presentation of the message is
has a few The writer's receives a garbled
text enhances the only
mistakes and is message is message due to
ability for the understandabl
Presentation generally easy understandabl problems relating
reader to e occasionally,
to read and e in this to the presentation
understand and and paper is
pleasing to the format. of the text, and is
connect with the messily
eye. not typed.
message. written.

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Science, Technology and Society (STS) – Module 106
 Activity Rubrics

Rubrics for Reflection Paper

5 4 3 2 1
Demonstrate a Demonstrate a Demonstrate a Demonstrate a Demonstrate little
Reflective conscious and thoughtful basic limited or no
Thinking thorough understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of
understanding of the the writing the writing the writing prompt the writing prompt
writing prompt and the prompt and the prompt and the and subject and subject
subject matter. This subject matter. subject matter. matter. This matter. This
reflection can be used reflection needs reflection needs
as an example for revision. revision.
other students.
Use specific and Use relevant Use examples Use incomplete or No examples
Use of textual convincing examples examples from from the text to vaguely developed from the text are
evidence and from the texts studied the texts studied support most examples to only used and claims
historical to support claims in to support claims claims in your partially support made in your own
context your own writing, in your own writing with claims with no writing are
making insightful and writing, making some connections made unsupported and
applicable applicable connections between texts. irrelevant to the
connections between connections made between topic at hand.
texts. between texts texts.
Use stylistically Use language Use basic but Use language that Use language
Language use sophisticated that is fluent and appropriate is vague or that is unsuitable
language that is original, with language, with a imprecise for the for the audience
precise and engaging, evident a sense basic sense of audience or and purpose, with
with notable sense of of voice, voice, some purpose, with little little or no
voice, awareness of awareness of awareness of sense of voice, awareness of
audience and audience and audience and and a limited sentence
purpose, and varied purpose, and the purpose and awareness of how structure.
sentence structure. ability to vary some attempt to to vary sentence
sentence vary sentence structure.
structure. structure.
The reflection The reflection The reflection Exhibiting frequent The reflection
Connections articulates multiple articulates attempts to errors that make does not
connections between connections articulate comprehension articulate any
this learning between this connections difficult. connection to
experience and learning between this other learning or
content from other experience and learning experiences.
courses, past content from experience and
learning, life other courses, content from
experiences and/or past learning other courses,
future goals. experiences, past learning
and/or future experiences, or
goals. personal goals,
but the
connection is
vague and/or
unclear.
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 Activity Rubrics

Guide for Writing a Reflection Paper

1. DON'T SUMMARISE the article. You can assume I have read it. While starting off your paper
with a brief description of the article or the points/arguments made in the article is often an
easy-route out of writer's block, try not to take it. You only have 2 pages (maximum), so don't
waste the space telling me what is in the article. Instead, begin right away with your
argument, critique or analysis.

2. ASK QUESTIONS. One of the more effective ways of getting at a more analytical level of
writing is by asking questions about the article you have been asked to read. Some of these
might include:

- Why did the author write the article?

- Why was s/he arguing what s/he was arguing?
- Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
- How might the author respond to your comments? Why?
- What were some of the common themes/issues in the article?
- How would you respond to these?
- How is the article tied into class material or discussions (if at all)?

3. ANSWER QUESTIONS.

4. PICK ONE OR TWO THINGS TO TALK ABOUT. Try to pick one point or argument made by
the author that you find particularly interesting.

5. PROOF-READ YOUR PAPER. Mistakes in grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and

punctuation result in a paper that is difficult to read and understand.

6. AVOID 2nd PERSON NARRATIVE. This includes the use of "we," "you," "us," or "our."

7. GUIDE YOUR READER. By including a brief statement outlining where your paper will go,
and an equally brief conclusion summarising what you feel your paper has said, you help me
to gain a better (and quicker) understanding of the direction of your argument and your
intentions (which can often count for as much as your finished product).

8. STRONG OPINIONS ARE A GOOD START

9. CONFUSION IS NOT A DEAD-END. If you didn't understand the article or its argument(s),
don't feel as though you can‘t write a good reflection paper.

10. ASK FOR HELP from your instructor/professor or your colleagues.

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