Some people are pleased by the presence of material items and a large group of friends surrounding them throughout their every action, but that is not entirely satisfying. A “good life” is one that provides fulfillment and, consequently, happiness. This type of life cannot be achieved solely by material gain nor popularity, but instead by assisting others.
Material items are always going to be desirable, but helping others provides a greater sense of happiness than a brand new 40-inch television set. Aiding others can move beyond making a person smile, it can even save a life. In the article “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Peter Singer provides the audience with a summary of the foreign film Central Station. In the film, a woman named Dora is given the opportunity to earn $1,000 by delivering a young boy to a specific address. She quickly learns that the young boy is going to be killed, so she sets out to save his life. Of course, this example is more dramatic than any situation the average person will have to face. Singer recognizes the disparity and asks, “What is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one—knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need?” This idea is not, however, limited to citizens of the United States; it applies to any non-third world country. A ridiculous amount of people waste their money on trivial things when it can be spent helping others. Several celebrities recognize this, including the late Princess Diana, and attempt to use their money to donate to poor, starving children in Ethiopia. At charity galas, reporters will ...
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...ds than you were before.” Self-fulfillment cannot be achieved without a strong desire; not a desire to better the self, but a desire to make the world a better place. But if one helps others in gradual increments, one will learn to enjoy it because they will grow accustomed to thankful glances, smiles, compliments, etc. For 99% of the world, helping and giving cause some feelings of joy and, therefore, at least a glimpse of the good life.
The “good life”, that is, a life filled with self-fulfillment and happiness, is achieved by a large amount of selflessness mixed with a small dosage of pleasure. Sacrifice is considered to be a mere story; one constructed by either Hollywood or fairytales. But the truth of the matter is that the ability to sacrifice one’s self is alive in every single person in the world, the difference is whether or not you choose to display it.
Doing solely what an individual loves is a self-centered view of the world. While it is important to chase happiness, it is also important to reflect on what one is doing to spread happiness to the rest of the world. One must find something that they are good at, and put that into the world. They should contribute to others and help the world be better, in addition to following their passions. An individual’s acts of service may just become one of their many passions.
Humans, throughout recorded history, have searched for a proper way of living which would lead them to ultimate happiness; the Nicomachean Ethics, a compilation of lecture notes on the subject written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most celebrated philosophical works dedicated to this study of the way. As he describes it, happiness can only be achieved by acting in conformity with virtues, virtues being established by a particular culture’s ideal person operating at their top capacity. In our current society the duplicity of standards in relation to virtue makes it difficult for anyone to attain. To discover true happiness, man must first discover himself.
In his article, the author Peter Singer presents valid points within his work in a way that provokes one to question their morals and ethics. He rationalizes the gift of donation in an unconventional but motivating manor. The purpose of “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” is to encourage people to reevaluate his or her ability to contribute to the underprivileged people of the world. Singer is addressing this article to any person with the ability to donate. The author makes it clear that nearly everyone has the ability to make a difference is others lives. Additionally, in “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”, the author explain that we have a duty to give, but he is not stating whether it is a duty of justice in Narveson’s sense. He is not stating if would be morally correct for anyone to force us or impose to us to give to the needy. This author is trying to persuade or convince people to give voluntarily. The author is not enforcing to do something, this is contrary to Narveson’s position “enforced fee”. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” addresses the urgency for a more generous world. Peter Singer presents valid points within his work in a way that provokes one to question their morals and ethics. He rationalizes the gift of donation in an unconventional but motivating manor. The main purpose of “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” is to
Singer’s argument may have swayed many people to donate their dispensable income to children in need despite the fact that it has many fundamental flaws. He argues that we should give away the majority of our earnings to charity. Since Singer wants the reader to donate such a large amount of money, the readers are given no choice but to contribute nothing whatsoever. His solution is not realistic and does not take into account the long-term financial impact this type of donation contribution system would have on a country’s economy.
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)
Most people feel that they should help the needy in some way or another. The problem is how to help them. This problem generally arises when there is a person sitting on the side of the road in battered clothes with a cardboard sign asking for some form of help, almost always in the form of money. Yet something makes the giver uneasy. What will they do with this money? Do they need this money? Will it really help them? The truth of the matter is, it won't. However, there are things that can be done to help the needy. Giving money to a reliable foundation will help the helpless, something that transferring money from a pocket to a man's tin can will never do.
The problem we have in today’s society is that people work to acquire as much money and possessions as they can and they think this will achieve happiness. Unfortunately, nobody told these people that happiness cannot be purchased and our possessions will fade no longer keep our interest. As we engulf ourselves in our daily busy work, our relationships are becoming strained and we are distancing ourselves from real happiness. We are seeking the means of work and money as an end, and we are chasing the wrong things in life. We hide from our unhappiness by watching television or partake in activities to distract ourselves from our problems. We need to find true happiness and this is found in becoming virtuous, creating good friendships,
Happiness is a challenging emotion or state of mind that is hard to define. It is remarkably difficult because every person on earth has a dissimilar view on happiness. Happiness should be understood as something that fulfills the person’s abilities. If he or she achieves happiness, then that equates to a balance of pleasure, honor, and self-sufficiency. Aristotle believes the greatest good is happiness. He describes happiness as, “an activity that is guided by and exercises the human virtues” (60). Is the highest good happiness? What are the characteristics of good? Do we all require habituation to become good? Such questions as these stirs up emotional reactions among debates of the topic.
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
While images of starving orphans may touch the hearts of wealthy westerners, those same images may be deceiving the viewers to achieve higher donation rates. The cash is then distributed in a way that the organizations see fit. The donor learns nothing about the political and economical structure in the third world country that they have “supported,” and they continue about their day with no knowledge of where their money actually ended up. There is a lack of education, and as a result the financial gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase.
Over the course of our lives, there are times where we are at a high point, where our lives are full of happiness and there is nothing for us to worry about. However, we often come to sit back and realize that our lives might not be exactly how we imagine it. There are problems and obstacles that we must choose to overcome. With the rate society is evolving at, we miss out on the little things like friends and family that makes our lives that much more special. Life can be filled with bliss no matter how bad things may seem and we can find true happiness from fixing these problems to make our lives blissful.
Happiness is a feeling that humans naturally desire. Without it, one feels incomplete. In this generation, happiness has taken on a definition by how we are presented to one another. It is measured by how much money we have, how famous we are, or the things we possess. When in reality, none of these things guarantee a happy life. Happiness is something that cannot be bought with money, but rather, it must be found, earned, sought after. Each and every one of us has our own list of things that we consider to make us happy. However, happiness shines brightest through the relationships we create, and the goals we make for ourselves to strive after. Along with these two essential sources, we then can mix and match those things in life that we enjoy to create our own unique formula for happiness.
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.
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.”
Aristotle argues that being happy is also being good. Once you have achieved happiness that is the end, and because it is something final it should be where all actions aim. Aristotle says that this is a truism, meaning that of course we should always aim to be happy because it is supreme good. The idea behind this links back to virtue and why being virtuous leads to happiness. Each individual has different abilities and skills which will lead to their own specific type of happiness. Happiness does not come in the same form for everybody, but ultimately when one is excellent at what they do, they will achieve happiness. In this paper, I will explain why the virtuous life is the equivalent of the happy life.