CHAPTER TWO - Science, Technology, and Society And the Human Condition
CHAPTER TWO - Science, Technology, and Society And the Human Condition
LESSON THREE - THE GOOD LIFE
Every human being moves according to some end. Every action that emanates from a human person is a function of the purpose that the person has. Every human person, according to Aristotle, aspires for an end. This end, we have learned is happiness or human flourishing.
No individual resists happiness. We all want to be happy. Aristotle claims that happiness is the be all and end all of everything that we do. We may not realize it but the end goal of everything that we do is happiness. If you ask one person why he is doing what he is doing, he may not readily say that it is happiness that motivates him. When Aristotle claims that we want to be happy he does not necessarily mean the everyday happiness that we obtain when we win a competition.
What Aristotle actually means is human flourishing, a kind of contentment in knowing that one is getting the best out of life. A kind of feeling that one has maxed out his potentials in the world, that he has attained the crux of his humanity.
Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life
Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life
In the eighteenth century, John Stuart Mill, declared the Greatest happiness principle by saying that an action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for the greatest number of people.