Preview

The Human Being and Living the Good Life

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1618 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Human Being and Living the Good Life
Philosophy 1000C
Final Paper

The Human Being and Living The Good Life
This paper contains the different definitions of what it means to be a human being and living a good life. In this paper we will take a look at Hobbes and Augustine’s definition of the human being and the good life. Both of these philosophers give examples of what they think the good life is, and the desires of human nature. In this paper I will talk about Augustine and his thought of how in order to live a good life, one needs to seek God to find true happiness. I will also talk about what being a human being and living the good life means to Hobbes, and his thought of how human equality is the ticket to happiness and the good life. I think Augustine offers a more accurate description of the human being and the good life because I agree that true happiness can’t be found in earthly things. I believe there is much more to life than finding happiness and self-worth in success, money, fame, popularity, and etc. Life chasing after materialistic items won’t bring you happiness because you will always feel like there is something more you want and desire, the materialistic items won’t satisfy you.
Augustine’s definition of the human nature is one that is a God-seeker. Augustine agrees with Plato that the human nature has a mind to think and choose. He also believes that human beings have the free will to choose between good and evil. He believes that the human beings search for ultimate fulfillment and happiness. He believes that the good life is a life following God. Augustine believes that the only way to find eternal happiness and live a fulfilled life is following God because human beings are born as natural sinners; only when we find God, the emptiness in our heart is filled with eternal love and happiness. His definition of the good life is not one free of suffering, troubles, or sorrow, but one with faith in God. He believes that the grace of God is what will make us happy

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Born into a religiously divide family, Augustine was influenced to follow Christian beliefs. During his lifetime he influenced and defended Christainity, he became a Christain and ultimately a saint. Following his beliefs in Neoplatonism; the belief that humans can overcome the imperfection of the world and gain knowledge of the One(God). Humans can accomplish this by leading a good life and actively thinking about the world. Augustine used his Neplatonic ideas to express his beliefs in his book the Book XI of Confessions. In Chapter 4, impose Agustine's idea to the Supreme God and Supreme Beauty is infiltrated by Neoplatonic idea that there is one perfect source of Goodness in the universe from which all other things come from the One(God):…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Prospect outlook regarding grace he stressed that man has no say in their destiny since God the ultimate decision maker decides each and everyone’s destiny. While Augustine has died long ago, contemporary theologians are still interested in his writings regarding free will, grace, salvation and predestination which was said to have been intended for Pagans and Christians alike. Augustine argues that one’s moral up bringing has a lot to do with his actions, whether good or bad. He further states that the will to do good or bad is brought forth after a struggle with the human conscience. He mentioned that free choice is made with motivation of which whether good or bad each one is responsible. He implied that once certain habits become habitual it is beyond our control, hence we have no control over how we behave. Prosper in his work also agreed that we are slaves to sin and can only do good if God allows him…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life-satisfaction line of research began in the Enlightenment period and adapts the 18th century Enlightenment kind of thinking. According to Veenhoven (1996), the Enlightenment perspective considers life itself as the purpose of existence while “society itself is seen as a means for providing citizens with the necessities for a good life”. This could also be in line with John Mill’s utilitarian moral theory that assumed that it is the consequences of human actions that count in evaluating their merit and that the kind of consequences matters for human happiness is just the achievement of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants,’” [Galatians, 5:16-17]. The material world represents the “evil” master, and Augustine’s inner weakness expresses the “good” slave. Book II of Confessions focuses on his sexual sins from his adolescent years. In Augustine’s time, complete celibacy was the ultimate goal. Marriage was for the weak who could not fully control their sexual desires, but sex was used only for the conception of children never pleasure. His urges become problematic, and his final obstacle to conversion is giving up sex. His parents only see success for their son in the shallow material world. His love and ease for learning drive both of his parents’ actions. They insist on sacrificing financial obligations to put him the best school only to drive his success. When confesses his sexual sins, they feel the need to marry him off as soon as possible. But they soon realize marriage will only affect his studies. Augustine’s rejection for the material world’s impulses leads toward his acceptance of Christianity. In essence, this realization symbolizes a Nietzschean “slave…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A question that philosophers have been pondering for centuries is, what does it mean to be human? Is it to be happy, to desire or be miserable? It is one of the most famous and inexplicable question that is interpreted differently for each person depending on their experiences, beliefs and their values.…

    • 1905 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Augustinian Theodicy

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    - Augustine's theodicy is soul-deciding. Meaning we have a choice of path metaphorically in life.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    hobbes vs aristo

    • 2862 Words
    • 12 Pages

    of Moses in the Bible. I often had similar feelings in my experience with life for a variety of reasons. Until my…

    • 2862 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout history all over the world, humans have been searching for their own “good life”. What each person’s good life is and what it takes to attain that life differs greatly across all aspects of humanity, causing it to require much time and effort for each person to discover their concept of a good life. This makes sense because of the vast differences in beliefs, experiences, and opinions that also play a part in constructing a large gap in social and financial statuses. For every human the sacrifices and benefits that come with finding one’s good life are considered the cost it took to get there, and each cost has a different amount of an impact on a person’s journey. Finding a partner and love seems to be a common theme throughout the readings in the course, and it almost always comes at a cost of missing an important opportunity.…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In many ways an individual’s role in society was changed by the importance of one’s uniqueness. In the fourteenth century, humanists wanted to be considered unique because it put them in a whole unique class of their own, they would have many traits that were very unique that distinguished them. This seemed to many individuals a sense of glory and exceptional power. In an essence, this concept of uniqueness was like human self-worship. In addition, some humanist writers said that men were special since they were made in God’s image, and that men could do anything they wanted to. For instance, Leon Battista Alberti once said, “Men can do all things if they will.” Humanists were very confident in who they were as a person and as an individual.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macro Systems

    • 1227 Words
    • 4 Pages

    of life (p. 31). This paper will be addressing the concepts of personal, interpersonal, and political…

    • 1227 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    philosohpy st augustine

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    St Augustine was born in the Ad period of 13 November 354- 28 August 430. He was an early Christian theologian. whose had writings became very influential in the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was bishop of Hippo Regius which is located in the Roman province of Africa. Saint Augustine started writing during the Patristic Era, he is widely viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers. His much widely praised work which is still read to this very day is writing on the City of Gods and Confessions. His most profound impact comes from his very own interpration of chrsitanity. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, Augustine helped formulate the doctrine of original sin and made seminal contributions to the development of just war theory. His key accomplishments Augustine lived in an era when the pillar of strength and stability, the Roman Empire, was being shattered, and his own life, too, was filled with turmoil and loss. First he lost his mistress, then his mother, and finally his son. To believe in God, he had to find an answer to why, if God is all-powerful and also purely good, he still allows suffering to exist.Augustine’s answers to this question would forever change Western thought. He states “Evil exists because we have free will. God enables humans to freely choose their actions and deeds, and evil inevitably results from these choices. Even natural evils, such as disease, are indirectly related to human action, since they become evil only when in contact with people”.-- (Saint Augustine) According to this theory, a disease spreads only because men and women put themselves in harm’s way. Augustine gave a more theological explanation later on in his life he also states, “We cannot understand the mind of God, and what appears evil to us may not be evil at all”. – (Saint Augustine). What he is trying to say is that we cannot judge God’s judgment. The roots of both of these…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As individuals we work in life to achieve many goals we desire, at times we work for them to any extent. These goals can take form physically or mentally and can bring great intellectual or spiritual developments. Happiness is seen as the major and most important emotion us humans seek for, it is what provides us with our ‘desired’ pleasures. However for some individuals they may argue that this view is too hedonistic and that life should encompass many other important goals, thus making it unworthy and is seen as a futile goal.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He also says to "look for something better than your soul itself" (Augustine p. 152), and "...your body can benefit from which is superior, because the body is subject to the soul" (Augustine p. 152). With this, he is telling us that we need to constantly improve ourselves, by turning to God. God is superior to everything, and as such, if we focus on Him, and attempt to create a soul that is pleasing and good. Once the soul is properly aligned, the body will begin to benefit. There will be fewer temptations to indulge the flesh (or body), because the soul is not concerned with gratifications of the world. As the soul turns towards God, the body naturally follows on the path of enlightenment. At the end of your lifetime, if your soul is found to be good or just, your body will become immortal, and you will spend an afterlife with God, according to Augustine.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    ‘Aristotelianism is defined as happiness as the quality of a whole life time.’ “Happiness is the purpose for which we live. Aristotle concluded that happiness is not a moment to moment experience of pleasurable things but rather a way of characterizing how one’s life is being conducted. Happiness is living and having lived a good life”. (Janaro & Altshuler, 2009)…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In life there are different ideas, whether the ideas are about money, or philosophy, or something something as complex as beginning of the universe. A common question is what is the definition of a “good life”. People have different opinions on the subject. The idea of a good life can be totally different between people. There once was a man who had all the possessions in the world, but still was not happy with his life. A poor man who had next to nothing had the most satisfying life imaginable. “How is this Possible?” is what many people might ask themselves.This is possible for the poor man because a good life is not based off materials, rather its a way of thinking; a person living a good life sees meaning in everything, and they are someone who feels self worth, and someone who is driving toward an individual goal.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays