How Can Live The Good Life - 1345 Words

How to Live the Good Life Every individual has their personal definition of what the good life is to them. It is a high standard of living that is associated with happiness and living a life worth living. This life will create endless joy and bliss for that person. To some, this might be living the American Dream by having a blue-collar job and residing in the suburbs with a white picket fence. Every individual is different though and has a different belief system. These various values can lead to different goals in life and habits. Philosophers Plato and Aristotle have their own views on the good life. According to Plato, this life is lived by fulfilling the natural function that all things possess; whereas, for Aristotle, it is about†¦show more content†¦In The Trial and Death of Socrates, Plato says, â€Å"for the best possible state of your soul, as I say to you: Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both i ndividually and collectively† (Plato 154). This quote shows Plato’s theory that knowledge creates virtue and that virtues is learned through education. So we have to relearn what our soul forgot after entering our bodies. He believes that our souls are pure and well-informed of right doing, but once it becomes a part of us, we have to reteach it what is right from wrong. Aristotle believes that to live the good life one has to be intellectual and have good behaviors. He uses the word Eudaimonia to describe this theory which is translated to happiness. By having these two qualities, one can become a virtuous person. To be a virtuous person they have satisfied inclination that are rational desires and actually wants to do what is right, and does it. Therefore, developing healthy habits lead us toward obtaining a better life. Whereas, picking bad habits makes us believe we are headed towards things that are good but may turn out to be bad for us. By picking these respectab le habits, one gets closer to being a virtuous person. He believes that what is good for one person is good for another. There are three types of good, and these are bodily goods, external goods, and goods of the soul.Show MoreRelatedHow Does Society Define A Good Life? Essay1228 Words   |  5 PagesTo have a good life, one must aspire to obtain one. Many people aspire to lead a good life but they nearly never truly obtain one. Life has obstacles, which makes it difficult for a person to lead a good life. Living a good life would be, being able to sustain oneself as well as one’s family members with little to no struggle. Equally important, a person should be happy while leading this so called, â€Å"Good Life.† â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living.† (Plato.) Knowing what makes you happy andRead MoreMorality : An Essential Key Component For One s A Good Life1696 Words   |  7 Pagesto make â€Å"good† decisions and become a productive member of society. It’s an essential key component for one to live a good life. Through this understanding and instilment of a moral foundations, one can live a good life. A good life that includes making the right choices in any given situation that follows our moral grounds. Our moral grounds include assisting others when asked, sacrificing one’s own time for others, and much more. Morals help us understand how to go about making â€Å"good decisionsRead MoreSimilarities Between The Truman Show And Animal Farm1219 Words   |  5 Pagesperfect Utopia? What is needed for a good life? These questions are so important when it comes to human’s view on power and control and how it should be used. In both stories, ‘Animal Farm’ (written by George Orwell) and ‘The Truman Show’ (directed by Peter Weir), the author and director explore these themes. Power and control, the good life, utopia. These three themes are key to living the full life. To hav e a utopia you must have a good life and to have a good life you must have your own power andRead MoreEssay on Seneca the Younger and Good Life1242 Words   |  5 Pageslater Stoic philosophers who had a huge contribution to the Stoicism in Roman Imperial Period, claimed that practicing philosophy is the only way to live a good live (Cooper and Procope 1995: xv; Seneca Letter XC Ex. 1). It was a very brave statement at that time and has been a controversy until now. This essay will explain what philosophy and good life are in Seneca’s view, then consider the role of philosophy, and finally extend the reasons why that assertion cannot be accepted. According to theRead MoreNicomachean Ethics: Leading a Virtuous Life880 Words   |  3 Pagesdevoted entire lives to the search for happiness. One such person who devoted a great deal of thought to the question of mans happiness was the famous ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. In his book The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discussed the meaning of happiness and what it meant to live a good life. He asserted that the devise which has been invented to create what is good for man is called politics; and it uses the rest of the sciences ¦so that this end must be the good for man. (AristotleRead MoreWhat Does It Happen?1147 Words   |  5 Pagesfear- it might feel as though maybe life has no meaning. Maybe it may feel like you have no purpose, no one does, and everything is pointless. Why am I even in university? What do I truly want in life? It may seem like you have tried everything. Your whole life you have always felt it, the void within you that you just cannot seem to fill . What am I really part of? Is it anything? What on earth is real? I mean, truly real? What is the point of it all? How comforting it is to hear that we areRead MoreA Good Life Essay906 Words   |  4 Pagesdefine the common good and what constitutes a good life. While the definition of what is a good life can vary from person to person, whether that mean academic achievement, financial success, or a certain social status; for me, a good life is a life driven through goals and purpose. A life in which you set goals and strive to reach them despite the physical, mental, or emotional obstacles that can get in your way. In Viktor Frankl’s What is a Good Life? Frankl states that, â€Å"Everything can be taken fromRead MoreEssay on What is a good life?1083 Words   |  5 Pagesis a good life? In today’s world, humans are often misled on what really is a good life. We are constantly shown through the television and magazines that being rich and famous is the way to go when it comes to a good life, when in truth many of them are miserable by problems that usually wouldn’t affect the common person. In truth there are only a few that are rich and famous and do achieve what can probably considered one of the greatest achievement’s by a man which is having a good life. In myRead MoreLiving Off The Grid1593 Words   |  7 Pagessustainable and intentional communities are rising across the nation as more people are discovering that they possess a strong inclination to live in the same manner as the Amish. This phenomenon is becoming a progressively popular choice for people from all walks of life. Not only are environmentalists and survivalists escaping the city life in efforts to live off the grid, but single families and people who are seeking to explore a simplified lifestyle are also joining the trend. Living off theRead MoreEssay on Living Life in American Samoa803 Words   |  4 PagesLiving Life in American Samoa There are many different people living in this world with different culture diversity, and ways of making a living. American Samoans are one of these countries with different cultures and different ways of living. Living life in American Samoa is more unique from other countries. First of all, living life in American Samoa is easier then any other countries as far as I know. In American Samoa we get food free because the Samoans mainly live off the land. There