PHI2000 The Good Life
U10a1 The Good Life
PHI 2000 Ethics
December 2011
Studies about the Good Life
What I learned from Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Frankl
Aristotle believes that one’s accomplishments in being happy are the driving force to a “Good Life”. The good life creates a happiness that relates to one functioning well and reason. Aristotle believes that it takes time, hard work and restraint to get to the employ the habits of reasoning and according to him everything has a purpose (Rachels and Rachels, pg 54). Aristotle states that “Good” has rightly been defined as “that at which all things aim” and that people identify happiness with living well or doing well (Sommers & Sommers, 2010).
St. Augustine defines happiness as the enjoyment of the chief good; out of the soul is where man finds himself and what is found cannot be lost but is led by following God and obeying his will (Sommers & Sommers, 2010). St Augustine believes that to live the good life is to obey God’s will and command he maintains that we cannot achieve salvation or happiness without God’s grace (Sommers & Sommers, pg 330). In support of St. Augustine I believe that man has the choice to live life to the fullest even through the trials and tribulations that he may experience and suffered. St. Augustine who distrusted reason and taught that moral goodness depends on subordinating oneself to the will of God (Rachels and Rachels, pg 158) which also helps to support his thought that through God can we attain the good life.
Frankl a psychiatry and neurology professor treated patients who were confined to concentration camps. Understanding how they felt after losing his family and everything that he had he could relate to the prisoners. Although it was the idea of the Nazi’s to humiliate, degrade and have the inmates believe that their life was meaningless, Fankl believed that it was up to the inmates to change their way of thinking and not succumb to the
PHI 2000 Ethics
December 2011
Studies about the Good Life
What I learned from Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Frankl
Aristotle believes that one’s accomplishments in being happy are the driving force to a “Good Life”. The good life creates a happiness that relates to one functioning well and reason. Aristotle believes that it takes time, hard work and restraint to get to the employ the habits of reasoning and according to him everything has a purpose (Rachels and Rachels, pg 54). Aristotle states that “Good” has rightly been defined as “that at which all things aim” and that people identify happiness with living well or doing well (Sommers & Sommers, 2010).
St. Augustine defines happiness as the enjoyment of the chief good; out of the soul is where man finds himself and what is found cannot be lost but is led by following God and obeying his will (Sommers & Sommers, 2010). St Augustine believes that to live the good life is to obey God’s will and command he maintains that we cannot achieve salvation or happiness without God’s grace (Sommers & Sommers, pg 330). In support of St. Augustine I believe that man has the choice to live life to the fullest even through the trials and tribulations that he may experience and suffered. St. Augustine who distrusted reason and taught that moral goodness depends on subordinating oneself to the will of God (Rachels and Rachels, pg 158) which also helps to support his thought that through God can we attain the good life.
Frankl a psychiatry and neurology professor treated patients who were confined to concentration camps. Understanding how they felt after losing his family and everything that he had he could relate to the prisoners. Although it was the idea of the Nazi’s to humiliate, degrade and have the inmates believe that their life was meaningless, Fankl believed that it was up to the inmates to change their way of thinking and not succumb to the
References: Rachels, J. & Rachels, S. (2010). The elements of moral philosophy (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Sommers, C. H., & Sommers, F. (2010). Vice and virtue in everyday life: Introductory reading in ethics (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Plato (2001). The Republic: Capella University Library. Infomotions, Inc. South Bend, IN, USA.