The meaning of a “good life” can be interpreted in various ways. The term “good” can be seen as happiness and fulfilment because of personal achievements, but it can also be seen as in being a morally just person because you put others before yourself by giving back to your community. “Life” in its plainest meaning can be just living, but it can also be lifelong goals that give you a purpose for existing. Together the “good life” in this sense has two different meanings. It can be achieving fulfillment because of the actions you did to benefit yourself, but it can also be finding happiness in others through charity and turning that into your own happiness. Personally, the second interpretation of a “good life” is my position on this, but to fully understand the “good life,” it is important to see the opposite of that, a miserable life. …show more content…
First it requires that the person receiving will not take it for granted and will instead use the resources given to them as a starting platform for their goals. Secondly it requires that the people giving are to do so not out of “direct impulse” or virtue, but for the betterment of society and to achieve their quest of a happy life (Russell, 364). In doing so, people “inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time.” (Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board, 376). This cycle of give and take is what makes up civilization and the “good life.” Goals should not be temporary things that people just cater everything they have towards to, and as soon as they achieve it just drop it and move on to another goal. With that in mind, goals are always shifting as well as your entire being and as a result not too much is actually accomplished. Picking up something, commiting 100% to it and then dropping it gets nothing done. This is what a miserable life
... constant today. In earlier times the social purpose of a gift was to either solidify a military alliance or to secure protection from greater powers. Now the social purpose of a gift is to express thanks or, as in ancient times, to solidify a friendship. However, the transfer of wealth upon ones death to loved ones, friends and charities through a legal Will is almost identical to the bestowment of treasure Beowulf exercises upon his death. Andrew Carnegie one of the wealthiest men of the modern era mirrors the Anglo-Saxon gift giving sentiment in his quote, “The kept dollar is a stinking fish…the man who dies rich, dies thus disgraced.” It is interesting that the ideals employed many years ago are still such an important part of modern society. Ideals that transcend the barriers of history are those with the most validity and integration within society.
The Good Life by Father Richard M. Gula emphasizes the importance of the moral vision of the “good life” with our Lord and Savior by our side. Throughout the book, Gula raises important themes that are crucial in understanding how to well a life well spent with God in it. He begins by introducing the Lord by giving examples of his image or imago dei and love. Next, Gula introduces the idea of the covenant. The covenant is a set of rules and agreements between our savior and us. He uses the covenant as one of the key elements by living a fulfilled life. We must understand boundaries and listen and obey the rules and practices that God placed on front of us. Then he introduces the Son of God, Jesus, and how he is portrayed. Jesus is just like
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.
Another reason for someone to give what someone deserves but at the end of the day is what
Wolf’s “The Meanings of Lives”, states a meaningful life must have some subjective and objective element to it and must be somewhat successful; Wolf’s idea of subjectivity is that projects and activities eventually make life meaningful. The projects must fulfill certain circumstances on the subjective and objective side. I’m going to introduce Wolf’s “fitting fulfillment” idea, raise a point against it and argue her idea, that success defines a meaningful life.
Even forms of human beings preforming selfless acts derives from ones desire to help others, which in a way makes that person feel importance. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, better known as Mother Teresa, devoted her life to helping those in great need. To many these acts may appear as selfless and gallant acts that are not performed by anyone with any type of ego. Yet when taking a psychological look at why she performed such acts they may appear a somewhat more for herself. Every time anyone does anything, even when for someone else, they are doing it for some type of feeling that they experience. With the holiday season approaching, there will be a specific emphasis on giving unlike any other time of the year. We give yes to show gratitude for someone we love, but also to experience the joy in seeing someone enjoy something they them self-caused. Even while being selfless humans have the unique ability to still be doing something that involves caring for them self. This outlook toward the human condition completely debunks Wolf’s claim that “when caring about yourself you are living as if you are the center of the universe.” When choosing to do anything positive or negative, for others or for yourself, you are still taking your self-interest into consideration, making it
Indeed, the pioneer aviator and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh puts it best when she says, “to give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own” In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of two Cities, Dickens shows the inherent goodness of his characters. By exemplifying various acts of sacrifice, he demonstrates that the character’s gifts ultimately bring about great change, often changes that facilitate the revival of their loved ones. The very first signs of sacrifice are noted in the opening scenes of the book. Dickens writes of a “fated revolution” by metaphorically comparing the woodsman and the forester to the creation of the guillotine.
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
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
“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
Sherman, Amy L. “Expectant Giving.” The Christian Century 116.6 (1999): 206. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
Many individuals wonder what is the meaning of life, and if the life that they are living has some sort of meaning to it. Before determining what the meaning of life is one has to know what the meaning of meaning is. Meaning has to do with how a word represents something or communicates something. Life is not the kind of thing that that can just represent or communicate, and so it doesn’t make sense to ask about the meaning of life, but what if the question to ask about the meaning of life does have an answer? Most things have a clear definition, but is life that simple to have a definition that all individuals will accept?
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.
Question: What is Aristotle’s idea of a good life and why does he view a good life in this way? Is Aristotle’s understanding of a good life accurate? Why or why not? (Make sure to talk about the concept of the mean).
Finding meaning in who you are and what you do is vital to having happiness. “Leading a happy life… is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a “giver””(Smith 2013). The idea of giving if often thought of one that brings happiness, but it doesn’t, it brings about meaning. Happiness is a selfish thing, and while to a point we must be selfish in out pursuit to live a happy life, we must not forget to be kind to one another and be humble. Being happy and having meaning go much together, finding a balance is what is hard. Happiness doesn’t last forever and will fluctuate with moods and situations, but meaning doesn’t. Meaning connects all of the aspects of your life, past, present, and future, together. This connection allows one to look inward and focus on who they are, and while those who report more meaning are slightly less happy in the present they tend to be happier overall (Smith