Many of us find ourselves pondering the question “what is the good life?” Of course this is extremely subjective and the definition will be different with every person that you ask. Each and every one of us has our own ideas of how to achieve the so-called “good life”. We know with Emerson the good life is more of a general idea, no man should conform to live the good life and we are all connected by what he referred to as the “over-soul”. When we take a look at Eberle, we can assume by his writing, his version of the good life is ever changing due to our fast paced lives. Some may say that the good life for them includes ideas and beliefs all combined together to create a perfect utopia, but for me, the good life is whatever makes me the happiest at that exact moment. Opinions change, beliefs change, we change, and if we dictate the good life on a list of set beliefs and viewpoints, we will never grow. We as humans and thinkers tend to be more closed-minded than open-minded. It is not common to challenge the beliefs we have, because we know what makes us happy and we don’t want to stray from what is comfortable to us. I think the definition of the good life can’t ever be defined by a set of ideas but rather can be lived and applied by what makes us the happiest at that moment, because what makes us happy today may not make us happy tomorrow. We should live in the now and make each and every second worth it so that when you look back on your life, you don’t have to try and muster up a definition of what the good life is to you, you can say “this, this right here is the good life”.
If we wanted to examine what Emerson thought the good life was, we could take a look at his essay “The Over-Soul”. In this essay we get a sense of what...
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...f rules governing our lives, we just need live in the moment and make the best of it.
Although I prefer to not have any set of rules to live by in order to determine the good life, I know that this is not the same for everybody. There will always be ways for individuals to achieve the good life, even though they will never ever be identical. Emerson believes that the good life can be achieved by being yourself and not conforming to the ways of others, while Eberle stated that good life is based on the important things in your life and that although times are changing, those beliefs should stay. I on the other hand believe that the good life is what you make it. One should live to be happy each and ever day without the fear of failure by not living up to the expectations that the world around him or her sets. The good life is out there and I’m determined to live it.
Since the human race began, the goal of becoming the best person one can possibly be has been a common one amongst society. The definition of a meaningful life, or a good person varies an infinite amount based on one’s opinion. However, regardless of the definition, one thing is for certain. Both Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau without a doubt achieved this goal. Although they had different ideas and beliefs, they got to the same result, which was to experience a full and significant life. Not only did they both achieve this, but they also made the world a better place in their own unique ways. By improving the world around them, both Franklin and Thoreau will be in our history books forever as incredibly influential people, whose ideas and narrative works are still admired and studied to this day.
Emerson’s first published work is Nature, which includes the essence of his transcendental thoughts towards the exceptional world, as a kind of attractive sign of the personal devout life, hanging trancelike before the eye, yet, it is to be noted, having control as one of its teaching for the caring heart (305). After all the critics have read and reread Nature, hardly any of them have anything negative to state. Nature is just an undeniable amazing essay. As Alfred S. Reid stated, “Nature is a unique blend of...
In ancient greek philosophies such as platonic, aristotelian, stoic and epicurean, as well as in medieval christian philosophies, the answer to to the question “what makes a life go best?” is always a narrow answer. With little variation the only life that is good and worth living, to the aforementioned schools of thought, is the life which which is spent developing an understanding of nature and of metaphysics, or rather the life spent as a philosopher. However the position which is by far more popular today is that of pluralism. Pluralism is the concept that there are multiple ways to live that result in a life going best; Desire Satisfaction Theory attempts to offer a justification for pluralism.
A picture collage of best friends, a credit card, a pair of keys that unlock a car and a house, a picture of a favorite athlete and last but not least, a minion plush toy. All these items are representative of a common idea: the good life. The ability to surround one’s self around people who love them, the ability to purchase any item deemed necessary for living, having a home and car to shelter one from the outside world, people to look up to and the idea that everyone works hard and is equal are all ideas represented by the good life according to typical college students. However, while college students may have an idea on what the good life really is, perhaps someone who would know it better is Aristotle. The basis of Aristotle’s argument
In Nichomean Ethics, Aristotle questions what exactly good is. Aristotle cites some typical examples such as being happy, wholesome and respected amongst your peers, he beleives that “mens conception of the good or of happiness can be read in the lives that they lead.” (Vaughn 84) Aristotles argument is continued by getting to the origin of every good activity. He remarked that if a man kept wondering which actions were good, he would find that every good activity lead to some end result of joy. Due to this a man can further his joy by drawing examples from his own life. For example, if a man is sick, he desires for good wellbeing, because it is what he accepts as true ...
In conclusion, humankind is blessed with life as God created it. One must reflect on their actions throughout life because one will be judged by God in the next life, one must see the importance of gasping liberation, and one must have a loving and open heart when helping the poor. Life should be lived to its fullest because once time is lost, it cannot be regained; life needs to be appreciated.
Tanner, Tony. “Emerson: The Unconquered Eye and the Enchanted Circle”. Critical Essays on Ralph Waldo Emerson. Robert E. Burkholder and Joel Myerson, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co, 1983. 310-326.
A Good Life for me is living in the moment, having self-awareness, and just be happy. There are things that should be valued like family, friends, and life. They are individuals that can never be part of your life again if you were to lose
A good life is when you die knowing that your life had a purpose, and you will be remembered for the good things that you have done.
According to Kantian’s theory he rejects all the previous notions of the way to live a happy life by other theorists and instead believes only moral goods and intrinsic acts can lead to the good life. My childhood I could say was a happy life, yet according to some of the other theorists, I was missing some components. Now as a college student I have yet to figure out the road to this so called happy life, so through this class I took a journey looking at many theories, ideas, theorists, and philosophy components in search of the optimum guide to the happy life, yet what I discovered was that there is no “perfect” guide to the happy life. Kant has a great idea, but so does some other theorists, therefore my conclusion is this; I can follow any or all of the theorists in search of the “perfect” happy life yet in each I will find faults or limits in them. There is no “perfect” guide to follow, only people who in themselves have found satisfaction in one theory and mindless of the limits or faults stick with that idea.
The right life does not mean perfect, the right life infers the moral knowledge of one person and how they go about this life. The right life is different for everyone, but in the end your family and spiritual life should be the same. One way of a right life is to always be joyful, and have a positive outlook upon any situation. Another is to think what is best for a “crowd” of people and where you would fit in. Find other people with the same interest and hobbies will make you more productive in anything you do. Never put your life under one thing you should split it up, meaning do not put everything into work. Becoming better at managing your time so you can enjoy life, of course there are some bumps to slow
We might not have the same opinions, paths, and ways of living; but we all, millions of people around the world, share the same purpose of life: Being able to say “I am having a good life!” What we mean by “good life” is living in pure happiness and having a wonderful peace of mind. The difference between us is that each one of us chooses a different way in his pursuit of happiness. Some find it in stability with a big house, a family, and a good paying job. Some find it in adventure and wildness, travel, and taking risks. While others don’t really have specific criteria or an organized plan, they just believe that happiness comes with living each day as if it was the last, with no worries about the rest. Personally, I find it in trying to be the best version of myself, in staying true to my principles, and in the same time in being able to make my own decisions; which reminds me of what George Loewenstein said “Just because we figure out that X makes people happy and they're choosing Y, we don't want to impose X on them.”
What is the meaning of a good life? How do we achieve the right to happiness? We live in a society full of suffering depressed people, terror, and mass murders.It is no wonder that there are so many monsters are in our society today.(The Making of a Monster 1)
“The Good Life” in Socrates mind isn 't’ just simply defined in this primary source, however, it is implied. It is clear Socrates believes that “The Good Life” isn’t about where one ended up, or how much material gain they inhabited through the course of their lives, it is about if they clung on to mortality and lived their lives doing what they believed was good. Socrates says, “A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong - acting the part
People may say that the “Good Life”, is what you make to be; that in order to have a good life you have to work hard, get and education and be kind to others, others may say that you have to follow the laws given by God and you may have a good life along with a long an peaceful life. While other may just simply go with the flow; for this paper, two excerpts were read The Republic and The Human Search for Meaning which are supposed to bring an understanding on how to achieve the “wealth” of the soul that will allow the readers to experience the “Good life” as Plato and his thinkers.