UNIT V.

THE GOOD LIFE

Angel Joyce C. Fajardo

Overview
In this unit, you will learn about what different schools of thought and individuals consider as the “good life” and its
accompanying limitations and responsibilities. These will help you identify the ways of how you can enjoy a good life through
science and technology within the bounds of society’s moral principles and ethical standards.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the unit, I am able to:

1. define what is the “good life”; and
2. examine shared concerns that make up the good life to come up with innovative, creative solutions to
contemporary issues guided by ethical standards

Lesson Proper

The Good Life

As you may have realized in the previous activity, the answer to the question, “What is a Good Life?” varies among
individuals. It can also vary among people from different places, cultures, and schools of philosophy! The time or period
during which a person lives will also affect how he or she defines a good life. For example, do you think a person living in the
16th century England will have the same idea of a good life as a person living in the Philippines during the present day? Of
course, not!

Let us begin by discussing the three main ideas that address the good life: The Moral Life, The Fulfilled Life, and
The Life of Pleasure.

The Moral Life is a concept of the good life introduced by Socrates and Plato. Are you familiar with these two
philosophers? To give you a bit of a background, Socrates is a Greek philosopher who is also considered as the father of
western philosophy. Plato was his most famous student and apprentice (Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2009).

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 According to them, a person who has a good life is someone who possesses and practices the most important virtues.
These virtues are courage, kindness, loyalty, and generosity. They believed being virtuous is superior overall supposedly good
things like pleasure, power, or wealth. The concept of the Moral Life as a good life also believes that:
 Questioning, reflecting, and examining the nature of things is important in order to have a good life.
 Servitude to others is essential.
 To have a good life, one must have full control of his or her desires and passions with proper reason.

Aristotle, another famous philosopher that I’m sure you are familiar with, claims that a good life is The Fulfilled
Life. Aristotle is the student of Plato. Aristotle views the good life more comprehensively and that it all boils down to man’s
desire to be happy. He believes that someone has a good life if he or she:
 is morally virtuous
 has a good health and long life
 leads a prosperous lifestyle
 has good friends
 respects other people
 has good luck or fortune, and
 is able to use his or her abilities, talents, and capacities.

According to this theory, we value things because they are a means to achieve other things. For example, we value
money because it allows us to buy our needs and wants. We value leisure because it lets us rest and has time to pursue our
interests. However, happiness is something we value in itself and not because we get something else when we have it. In
other words, the value of happiness is intrinsic rather than instrumental (Westacott, 2020).

Last but not the least, another philosopher named Epicurus suggested the concept of The Life of Pleasure.
According to him, life is worth living because of pleasures. Pleasure can be defined as a mental state that is enjoyable,
positive, and worth seeking. This view that pleasure leads to a good life or that pleasure is what makes life worth living, is
known as hedonism (Westacott, 2020) There are many kinds of pleasures in this world, some of which are wealth, fame,
food, and sexual pleasures. Calling someone a hedonist often has a negative connotation because it suggests that he or she is
devoted to “lower” pleasures like food, drinks, sex, and other sensual indulgences.

Although Epicurus thinks these can give a person a good life, he also believes that a person should not lose himself or
herself to pleasures because:
1. This will reduce one’s pleasure in the long run
2. Pleasure from things like friendship and education are more important.
3. Everyone should live a virtuous life.

There are Three Aspects of Good Life, namely self-mastery, servitude to society, and contemplation, and
learning. The good life is said to be an integration of these aspects, disregarding the hedonistic idea mentioned earlier.

Ethics and Ethical Standards

Now that you have a background on “What is a Good Life”, the next question is : “How should I live?”.

The answer to this question is a matter of Ethics. Ethics is the system of moral principles, meaning a standard for
choosing between right and wrong. It is mainly concerned with what is good for an individual, or yourself, and the society
(BBC, 2014). It is the key in solving the following dilemmas:
a. How to live a good life
b. Knowing your rights and responsibilities
c. The language of right and wrong
d. Identifying what is good and what is bad

Since humans are set apart from other creatures because of the ability to reason out and the capacity to observe
rational thinking, this idea of right and wrong and living an ethical life is unique. Ethics provides a foundation for answering
complex questions and allowing humans to behave and act according to moral principles.

For example, all of us encounter ethical dilemmas in our everyday lives. These are situations in which a difficult
choice or decision must be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones. It is important that
whatever we do or say is based on moral principles. Here are some ethical dilemmas that you can think about:
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1. Will you tell your parents or guardians about getting low or failing grades in some of your subjects?

2. Do you think it is okay to eat in fancy restaurants when some people have nothing to eat?

3. If you find out that your friend’s partner is cheating, will you tell your friend about it even though you know it will hurt
him/her?

After trying to answer and think about these ethical dilemmas, consider what made you choose your final decisions.
Is it for the good of yourself and your loved ones, or is it based on the good and bad standards set by the society around you?
You are more likely to realize that it is often a combination of both.

The Role of Ethics in Innovation

Question: Do you think Ethics is important in innovation? Why or why not?

Before we discuss the role of ethics in innovation, let us first understand what innovation is (Callegaro, 2017).

1. Divergence
The goal of innovation is to change the status quo of the ways we have been used to it. It aims to create and
develop new concepts, ideas, and methods, therefore diverging from common. Through this, different problems and
issues can be solved using new and maybe even better approaches and solutions.

2. Curiosity
Aristotle once said that our curiosity allows us to search for our intellectual virtues. Curiosity urges us to examine
things closely, probe, explore ideas, and ultimately gain new knowledge. In other words, innovation begins with
curiosity.

Intellectual virtues are excellent character strengths or personal traits considered to be morally good for thinking
and learning. These are often associated with knowledge and cognitive ability (King, 2014). Good thinking and learning
also require traits like being intellectually honest, humble, careful, and attentive. These are all intellectual virtues.

3. Multi-disciplinary
To come up with any innovative solution, you should be able to look at a problem from multiple perspectives, or a
multi-disciplinary approach must be applied. This provides us with a deeper understanding of the problem and a more
holistic idea about potential solutions. This can be made possible through the collaboration of experts and people with
diverse skills and backgrounds.

4. Resilience
Innovation is not a one-time task and is often a product of many trial and error experiments. Innovators must be
resilient, persistent, and determined to keep testing ideas and continue the process despite many failed attempts and
mistakes.

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 5. Effect to people
Innovators must also think about the effect or impact of their innovation to people. Of course, the goal is to benefit
all end-users since the people or the end-users are the ultimate judges if the innovation is relevant, helpful, and useful
to them.

6. Shared responsibility
However, we must also remember that any innovation's success is a shared responsibility between the innovator
and the community. The innovator’s intention should be for the common good and benefit of the community. Likewise,
the community should make sure to use the innovation responsibly.

What is the distinction between technology and innovation?

Innovation is a human-centered perspective and process. It is the formulation of new concepts, ideas, and methods to
provide solutions to problems.

Technology, on the other hand, can be a product of innovation. It is the application of scientific knowledge for practical
purposes. Therefore, technology is an essential part of innovative development (Callegaro, A. 2017).

Economic gain and technological advancement should not be the sole consideration of innovation. It should also be
ethical. Innovation can affect people in many different ways and impact many aspects of our lives, such as our health,
communication, education, politics, and justice system. Thus, innovation should be accomplished within the bounds of an
ethical framework.

Innovations are considered ethical innovations if they possess the following characteristics (Brown & Wyatt, 2010):
 Humanistic - Innovations should be human-centered. Meaning, it should be helpful, useful, and relevant to the people
for which it is intended.
 Participatory - The process of planning, designing, and creating innovations should be done with the people and not
just for the people.
 Sustainable - Innovations are only ever important and necessary if they could be sustained for a long period of
time considering political, social, economical, and environmental aspects.

So, how can we relate the Good Life, Ethics, and Innovation to each other?
To further understand the lesson, please read this UNEP report with the title, “Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to
Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication”
[Link]

After reading the Online Article, discuss your answer to the following questions:
 How can we relate the green economy to sustainable development?

 What are the main principles of the green economy?

 In what ways can a green economy contribute to achieving a good life for people and the society?

Conclusion/ Summary
Living a good life is a part of human flourishing. Without focusing on self-pleasure (the hedonistic approach), the
good life is a combination of self-mastery, servitude to the society, and contemplation and learning.

Ethics helps us answer the question, “How should I live?”. It is a system of moral principles for considering what
is good for oneself and society and other people.

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 Innovation is a human-centered perspective and process. It is the formulation of new concepts, ideas, and methods to
provide solutions to humanity’s problems. It also plays a role in achieving a Good Life. However, to attain a good life though
innovation, our decisions must be based on ethical standards and moral principles.

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