Republic of the Philippines

BICOL UNIVERSITY
College of Science
“Science, Technology and Society”

Name: JAZMINE DIN

Course and Year: BSME 2C

Activity 6
“The Good Life”

A. Evaluation

Answer the following questions as brief as possible.

1. Define, in your own words, the meaning of a good life:

Living a good life means living a fulfilled life. It is not just about doing the things
you want to do, nor focusing only on your own interests but a good life is living your
life as a morally responsible person and doing things knowing your limits, knowing your
responsibilities and taking into consideration other people’s situation not just your own
from time to time. A good life is where a person has the freedom to experience or do
the things he/she loves to do which leads him/her to the realization of his life’s purpose
and by not degrading another person’s freedom to do so and also taking into
consideration by doing and practicing important life virtues which is an important point
of being a morally good person.

2. How can one achieve a good life according to the article, “What is the Good Life” by
Emrys Westacott?
Reading the article “What is the Good Life” by Emry Westacott, here are the
ideas I gathered on how one can achieve a good life:
- Being a moral person who does good deeds in life by acquiring some if not all the
important virtues in life. Living a moral life is also doing things which does not just
benefit one’s self but also others around him/her.
- To be able to experience the pleasures of life but at the same time knowing our limits
and applying the first one stated above.
- Next is, having a fulfilled life wherein, we live morally, and is happy with the way our
lives are going by not just thinking about ourselves but also by doing our
responsibilities as a person.
- Lastly, we can achieve a good life when we are able to practice and acquire the
concepts stated above for the reason that these will all lead to having a meaningful
and fulfilled life.

3. Can Technology lead us to a good life? Explain your answer.

We can clearly see these days how Technology had helped the world prosper
in a lot of ways. It had opened doors which would not have been possible without it
and almost anything is possible because of it. I believe that technology can lead us to
a good life but everything even people has the pros and cons. Technology can be a
great source and tool to achieve things that will help us in obtaining a good life but it
also has its disadvantages which can already be seen these days as the world gets
even more modernized. So, if everyone knows how to use it properly and responsibly,

“Become the strongest version of yourself”

 Republic of the Philippines
BICOL UNIVERSITY
College of Science
“Science, Technology and Society”

then it will definitely help us obtain good life. We should still know our limits and know
how to balance life with and without the use of technology.

4. What did Prof. Albert Borgmann mean when he said. “the ones that enhance focal
practices and communal celebrations, and do not diminish or replace them” That would
be the rule of thumb.
I think, what Prof. Albert Borgmann means in that statement is, people do not really
have to figure out of which type of technology is good/useful or bad for us but instead,
we just have to figure out on how we will be able to make the most of it by using this
technology into good use which can benefit people truly. There is no need to get rid of
it because it had been already attached in our lives the only thing we have to do is to
find a way to balance everything in our life without technology hindering us from doing
so, instead it allows us to become skilled at things which is worthwhile to do.

B. Enrichment

1) Watch the documentary film entitled “That Sugar Film” (2015).

2) Read The Concepts of the Public Good: A View from the Filipino Philosopher by
Rolando Gripaldo

TASK: Write a reflection paper on how the two topics relate to the lesson about “The Good
Life.” Support your stand.

Directed by and starring Damon Gameau, That Sugar Film is a documentary film which
shows the viewers the effects of sugar intake (sugar which are found in foods that we eat) in
a human’s body. The film shows quite a unique experiment that documented how sugar found
in the foods that are commonly perceived as “healthy” affect one’s healthy body through a
high sugar diet shown to us by Damon Gameau himself. With the help of professionals who
guided and monitored him all throughout his journey in achieving results from his experiment.

The Concepts of the Public Good: A view from a Filipino Philosopher, is a paper written
by a retired full professor of Philosophy from De La Salle University, Rolando M. Gripaldo
PhD. In his paper, he discussed about Public Good, what it is, and explained it in two senses
which are the Politico-ethical sense and Politico-economic sense. Furthermore, he also
discussed in his paper the definition of Private Public Goods, Public Public Goods, Mixed
Goods and also discussed what Public Bads is which includes corruption, pollution and crimes.

In the documentary film, the character, the persona of Damon Gameau was really
dedicated and “sure” in making his experiment idea for real. He started by explaining on how
his lifestyle was before and after he met his girlfriend, who at the time the film was
documented, was pregnant. His lifestyle before was not that healthy, living in the way he
wanted and eating the food he wanted like his homemade Australian pizza. This all changed
after he met his girlfriend and when they started living together, his lifestyle changed and with

“Become the strongest version of yourself”

 Republic of the Philippines
BICOL UNIVERSITY
College of Science
“Science, Technology and Society”

it, the food he takes. Before the experiment, he consulted specialists and doctors regarding
his concern and had his check-up showing that his body is at good condition and healthy. All
throughout the film, he sticks to his high sugar diet even knowing that it actually affects his
body not just physically but mentally also where he experienced feeling lethargy and other
behaviors which is not his usual self. He pursued his experiment by visiting places where
people's diets were influenced with high sugar foods from supermarkets not because they
wanted to but they just have no choice. He also talks and visited people who shares
experiences and knowledge with regarding the matter of his experiment.

On the paper regarding the concept of Public Good by Rolando M. Gripaldo, he

focuses on giving definitions of important points of his stand regarding public goods. He made
sure to give a clear explanation for a good understanding of the topic to the readers. Upon
explaining the concept of Public Good in its Politico-ethical and Politico-economic sense, he
then, explained the meaning of Private Public Goods, Public Public Goods followed by Mixed
Public Goods and Public Bads. These concepts allow anyone who's reading it to understand
their connection with one another with the help of simple real-life examples given by the
author.

Relating these two; the film and the paper, to the article written by Emrys Westacott
regarding on how a person can achieve The Good Life, I believe, based on my understanding
of the two, they both deal with real-life situations through three different aspects of life which
is a person's health or an individual's choices for his or herself (That Sugar Film), the other
aspects were shown in the Concepts of Public Good which were about ethical sense and
economic sense. Basically, these two had a connection with each other which can be related
to the lesson of The Good Life. The first is what That Sugar Film had shown wherein, it all
began with a person's choices for himself. Choosing what is good and bad for yourself can
affect not only yourself but the people or community around you. If Damon continued his
unhealthy food intake until the time he met his girlfriend and until the time that they're staying
together, it wouldn't be a good idea especially with a baby coming to the family. These
unhealthy habits 8will only be learnt by his child and possibly will go on and on and on. Based
on The Good Life, in able for a person to achieve a good life, they should be able to not only
think about their own needs or wants but also of the people around them. Fulfilling one's
responsibility to others will lead to achieving a good life, wherein in the film, the main character
change himself for his wife and their child and sharing the knowledge to the viewers regarding
the importance of being cautious of food intake no matter how “healthy” most people perceive
it to be. The next is, The Concepts of Public Goods wherein we can relate the ideas in it to the
lesson of Good Life by relating Private and Public Public Goods to the real life. I agree to the
idea stated in the paper that Public Good is ideal or pure since its main beneficiary is the
general public, only there is a complication. Complication happens when private sectors
alongside local and/or national government sector pursues it according to their own sake
where private sectors is for their profit and government sector is for their social service
orientation. If there are irregularities or the two are being irrational with their concerns then the
outcome will be Public Good is gone and Public Bad will be served instead. That is why, there
is really no public good that is purely nonrival and nonexcludable. Just like in people. No
person is purely good and no person is purely bad. There are times when some people will
only be good to you because they need something from you or some other people don't like

“Become the strongest version of yourself”

 Republic of the Philippines
BICOL UNIVERSITY
College of Science
“Science, Technology and Society”

you not because they're a natural snob but they may have trust issues with people they do not
know well. One more idea from The Concepts of Public Good which captures my attention is
that “a private business firm may pursue a public good in a nonprofit, altruistic gesture that is
a public service without direct or indirect financial returns”. We know that private sectors are
always after the profit they are going to make after making a project. I get to relate this with
life and got to the idea that not all good are pure good and not all bad are pure bad when it
comes to people. There will always be a bad and good side in a person. Sometimes we might
see it in them but sometimes we don't and will only surface through time. It does not mean
that if a person is trustworthy with the way he looks, that he really is trustworthy, same goes
with the opposite wherein, not all criminals are bad, there will always be a part in a person's
personality where he is kind.

By watching the documentary That Sugar Film, and reading The Concepts of Public
Good, I realize that in able for a certain individual to achieve The Good Life, he/she does not
need to be perfect in every way possible just to do so. The main lesson is that, we should
always know our limits in all the things that we do and learn on balancing everything in our
lives including our food intake. We should always keep in mind that karma is real.

“Become the strongest version of yourself”