Lecture 09 : Good Life

• Pleasure


  A positive, enjoyable, or worth-seeking mental state that gives a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment
• Happiness


  A state of well-being and contentment that encompasses living a good life with a sense of meaning and deep satisfaction
• Eudaimonia


  Often translated as "happiness"
• Aristotle's view of eudaimonia

  • Living the eudaimonistic life is living the good life
  • The highest good isn't wealth, honor, or pleasure
  • Human beings are inclined to seek a deeper sense of happiness
• Intellectual virtues


  • Scientific knowledge
  • Aristotle claims that the person who lives a good life also acts rightly and develops the appropriate state of character from which to perform those right actions.
  • Knowledge of first principles or fundamental truths of nature
  • Knowledge that comes from inference or demonstration, or what comes about as a result of applying these principles or fundamental truths
• Aristotelian view of happiness

  • The good life is a life of relationships
  • Human beings seek for good life not only for themselves but also for the others
  • Sense of mutual flourishing is embedded in the notion of the common good
• Public good


  A commodity or service that is made available to all members of society, typically administered by governments and paid for collectively through taxation
• Good life


  • Related to science
  • Science provides good life for everyone
  • Quest for good life fuels science
• Sustainable Development

  • Low carbon growth
  • Resource efficiency
  • Social inclusivity