THE GOOD LIFE

Chapter 6
OBJECTIVES:
- TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF THE GOOD LIFE
AS POSITED BY ARISTOTLE
- DEFINE THE GOOD LIFE IN THEIR OWN
WORDS
- TO EXAMINE SHARED CONCERNS THAT MAKE
UP THE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES GUIDED BY ETHICAL
STANDARDS Chapter 6
Nicomachean ethics is a philosophical inquiry into the
nature of the good life for a human being.
Aristotle
said:
All human activities aim
at
some good.
Every art & human inquiry,
and
similarly every action &
pursuit,
is thought to aim at some
good,
 reading assignment
◦https://
www.ancientgreekphilosopher.com/2015/07/20/10-thin
gs-you-need-to-know-about-aristotles-nicomachean-e
thics/
◦10 Things You Need To Know About
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
 Everyone is moving
towards the good.

completing one’s studies

taking a rest
Everyone is moving
towards the good.

Training for
a sport/dance

The good is expressed &

manifested in various ways
for different person and
circumstances.
The good life, however, is more than these
countless expressions of what is good.

The good life is characterized N-ethics

by happiness that springs …that living
from living well and
and doing well
doing well. are the
same
as being
happy
 EUDAIMONIA
GREEK CONCEPT OF
“LIVING WELL AND
DOING
Eu = good
WELL ”
daimon = spirit
 EUDAIMONIA
REFERS TO THE GOOD LIFE,
WHICH IS MARKED BY
HAPPINESS AND EXCELLENCE
 EUDAIMONIA
IT IS A FLOURISHING LIFE
FILLED WITH MEANINGFUL
ENDEAVOURS THAT EMPOWER THE
HUMAN PERSON TO BE THE BEST
VERSION OF HIMSELF/HERSELF.
It is a flourishing life filled with meaningful
endeavours that empower the human person
to be the best version
of himself/herself.
◦If one is a student
then he/she acts to
be the best version
of a student by
studying well &
fulfilling the
demands of the
school.
 HAPPINESS IS THE
ULTIMATE END OF HUMAN
ACTION.
It is that which people pursue for its
own sake.
 Happiness is the ultimate end of
human action.
◦Financial stability ◦Harmony and peace
for one’s family as a reward for
◦The power achieved taking care of the
environment, and …
for winning the
elections
All these are pursued for the sake of happiness

130; 330; 430Jan18

 Happiness defines a good life.
◦Not the kind that ◦Comes from living a
comes from sensate life of virtue, a life of
excellence, manifested
pleasures from personal and
global scale

virtue = moral excellence of a

person
For example

◦Making sure that one avoids sugary

and processed foods to keep healthy is
an activity that expresses virtues.
◦The resulting health adds to one’s
well-being and happiness.
Another example

◦Taking care of the environment through

proper waste management which results
in a clean environment and adds to
people’s well-being and happiness.

Virtuous actions require discipline and

practice.
- affect the individual self and the greater
community*
◦Virtuous actions ◦Activities contrary
to virtue are those
require discipline which do not result
and practice. in happiness.

The lack of discipline in eating healthful food

eventually makes one sick.
The lack of concern for the environment
destroys the Earth we live in.
THUS, DISREGARD FOR
VIRTUOUS ACTIONS, ESP. FOR
THE SAKE OF CONVENIENCE &
GRATIFICATION, DOES NOT
CONTRIBUTE TO HAPPINESS.
THE GOOD LIFE IS MARKED BY
HAPPINESS BROUGHT ABOUT BY
VIRTUOUS HUMAN ACTIONS &
DECISIONS THAT AFFECT THE
INDIVIDUAL SELF AND THE
GREATER COMMUNITY.
 Virtuous actions require discipline and
practice.

◦It is the constant practice of the good

no matter how difficult the circumstances
may be.

Virtue is the excellence of character that

empowers one to do and be good.
-habit of exercising the
good
2 kinds of virtue
◦Intellectual virtue ◦Moral virtue
- Owes its birth and - Comes about as
growth to teaching
a result of habit
(for which reason it
requires experience
and time)
THE ONWARD PROGRESS OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IS ALSO THE MOVEMENT
TOWARDS THE GOOD LIFE.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE
ONE OF THE HIGHEST
EXPRESSIONS OF HUMAN
FACULTIES.
They allow us to thrive and
flourish in life if we so desire
it.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MAY ALSO CORRUPT A PERSON,
BUT GROUNDING ONESELF IN
VIRTUE WILL HELP HIM/HER
STEER CLEAR OF DANGER.
ANSWER PAGE 74, FROM 1-
10
(2 PTS EACH)