The Good Life

Based on this unit’s readings, identify two different Greek approaches to the good life and state which philosopher comes closest to your own personal vision of what makes a life good; and give an example of what you may do in leisure and how it relates to said philosopher.

ANS.

Part A)Two unique Greek approaches to the Good Life

• Plato's Philosophy

1. The most common view about Plato comes from Socrates example (as imagined by Plato), who, while being charged for corrupting the nation's youth, tells his enquirers that 'the unexamined life is not worth living.'
2. Plato gave definition of the good life in terms of civil duties and justified control.
3. Plato said that all humans naturally wanted eudaemonia (Greek word for welfare) through moral thought and actions by way of virtue.
4. In his book Republic, he has proposed the idea that a man is good when he is able to judge himself and then act on correct reasoning being able to control his actions, and similarly, he's bad if he does the opposite.

• Aristotle's Philosophy

1. Aristotle kept concept of good life central to his philosophy.
2. He brought out an essential difference between theoretical knowledge and it's applications in common life.
3. Aristotle reasoned in his book Nichomachean Ethics that possessing intellectual virtues alone were not enough to achieve eudaimonia.
4. Aristotle believed that individuals who achieve eudaimonia would possess eleven virtue traits which are called as the 'golden mean.'
5. In Nicomachean Ethics, he has said that 'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.'

I resonate with Aristotle more since he argues that individual virtues are the one path to the good life and that path lies inside us, while Plato says the path to the good life needs exterior influences for the person to achieve success.

Part B) Daily life Example relating to Aristotle's Thinking

• In leisure time, mostly youth is either hanging out or watching movies or engaging in some other form of amusement.
• We can instead decide some constructive skill or quality like developing nice communication skills or playing a musical instrument, meditation for a good amount of time(e.g 30 minutes or 1 hour), etc.
• Then after deciding, breaking it down into small achievable goals such as meditation in the daytime for 2 minutes everyday or while going out, complimenting one or a few strangers.
• After I complete such small yet achievable goals, my confidence will increase and it will become a habit fully till I reach my end absolute goal.

So, that's how I will implement the philosophy to my leisure time activities.