Happiness and the Good Life Essay Example for Free

Happiness and the Good Life Essay What is the relation between living a good life and being happy? To many, the good life is a financially prosperous life, and happiness lies in the possession of wealth. Worldly success is what counts, and anyone who is not ‘successful’ in the usual sense is counted a ‘failure.’ Others strive for a life based on honor and public recognition. A good life is made up of hobnobbing with the right people in the right settings, and happiness is a matter of gaining respect. Along with these, there are lives that show by their living a desire for glory or power that inspires great efforts. Others, who are not drawn to wealth, power or glory because of the difficulties involved in attaining them, may choose the pursuit of pleasure. A good and happy life is one in which pleasures outweigh the pains overall. Many questions have been asked about the good life and happiness. People constantly answer those questions with their lives, and we see many different ideas of the good life and happiness playing out in the strivings of human beings to live well and be happy. The ancient Greeks wished their friends to ‘do well’ and ‘fare well’ in this life. These two, they thought, held the keys to human felicity. Doing well concerns ourselves, our own actions and feelings. We have some control over these aspects of our lives. So when we wish someone to ‘do well’ in life, we express the hope that the person will be moral and fair in his or her dealings with others. Beyond securing basic physical survival, someone who does well in life can sleep with a clear conscience, whether blessed with material success or not. From many a philosophical point of view, the good life has an intrinsically moral core that involves compassion for the suffering of others and acting justly in the world. ‘Faring well’ concerns events and occurrences over which we do not have so much control. â€Å"Faring well† means succeeding in life, coming into a prosperous condition, with all the benefits that come with money and social acceptance. Someone who is faring well in life has had a bit of good luck. It is possible to do everything right in order to succeed, but still fail to do so. For example, you can study hard for your degree, get your professional qualifications, work diligently, become competent, but still not succeed. The cards may not fall your way. As Sartre says, â€Å"You are free to try, but not to succeed.† This seems right to me, and so I will come down with Aristotle against Plato on this point, that doing well is not all that is involved in attaining happiness in life. Plato’s Socrates famously says that the good person cannot be harmed, that virtue is knowledge, and that happiness consists entirely of doing well and being just. Aristotle argues that a degree of luck plays into our happiness. He insists that most of our happiness is in our own hands, but that it can be affected by outside circumstances. So while being happy is mostly a matter of ‘doing well’ (and ‘thinking well’), great misfortunes can damage our happiness. It may be that such a person, by ‘doing well,’ will attain a degree of dignity in suffering, but he will not be happy; or, as Aristotle has it, ‘blessed.’ In light of this result, I hazard an intuitive philosophical account of the relation between the good life and happiness. Living a good life is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for happiness. In other words, it is possible to live a good life without being happy, but not happy without living a good life. This a ‘philosophical’ account of the relation because many philosophers have a particular idea of happiness and the good life that is not shared by everyone, with their emphasis on clarity of thought and sound reasoning. In addition, though philosophers recommend the philosophical life as both the happiest and the best, they are not in a position to legislate for everyone what happiness must be. Nevertheless, the traditional philosophical view is not without support. All we have to do is look at the results of many lives that strive for wealth, power, fame, glory or pleasure. So many disasters befall those who pursue a good life with no moral core, or reflective turn of mind, that it makes some sense, as philosophers argue, to pursue the wisdom to recognize the good life, and, within that life, such happiness human beings can attain.

Self and Other: The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

With his critical essay: "Hawthorne's Awakening in the Customhouse" Loving gives the reader a psychoanalytical reading of The Scarlet Letter. Loving pays close attention to Hawthorne's unconscious motives and feelings in his interpretation of Hawthorne's writing. He is particularly concerned about the radical change of direction that Hawthorne takes in altering the initial course of his story by adding an unexpected ending. The ending, as presented to the reader in the last three chapters, undermines the notion of emancipation Hawthorne had developed throughout the story. Loving argues that Hawthorne withheld in this way a significant piece of information which would have enlightened the reader about Hawthorne’s true self: â€Å"The author’s last minute retreat from the primordial sense of himself in The Scarlet Letter may have preserved his sanity to some extent (...) but it also cost him (and us) the true ending of the novel†. (Loving, p. 23) Loving considers the novel as a highly autobiographical account in which Hawthorne unconsciously attempts to first and foremost resolve his relationship with his mother. Central to the understanding of the nature of this relationship are the recurring themes of "guilt" and "crime". The "guilt" Hawthorne suffers from is derived from the "crime" of having broken the bond with his mother by secretly getting engaged to Sophia. In the process of writing The Scarlet Letter, he uncovered his unnaturally close and dependent relationship to his mother from which his sense of guilt originally derived. Since he did not want this sense of guilt to be revealed to the reader, he added â€Å"The Customhouse† to shift the focus of the origin of his guilt onto his ancestors. According to Hawthorne, â€Å"The Customhouse† was written to increase the overall length of The Scarlet Letter. Loving however, claims â€Å"The Customhouse† to be a cover-up for Hawthorne's deep identity crisis: " He desperately needed a beginning (...) that would save him from the self he had revealed in the true text" (Loving, p.

The Australian legal system

The Australian legal system has 2 main sources of law, namely the Parliament-made law and the case law or the common law. The primary source of law in Australia is the Parliament-made laws. As the representatives are elected to the House by the people, statutes and laws can be made keeping in mind the needs of the people. Case laws on the other hand are made by the judges in the courts. Once the court gives its decision, the same would apply for similar circumstances or instances (precedent).The decision would be binding on courts in the future. Another source of law that can be considered in the Australian legal system is the international law that would be applicable in case Australia is a signatory to an international convention, or a bilateral/multilateral agreement (Governments of Australia and South Australia, 2007). Judges are usually, unable to make laws. The law-making capabilities are usually done by the Legislation. The judiciary would be interpreting laws and filling up t he gaps that have been left by the legislation.However, there may be instances in which a strong judiciary can create a new law that may have a strong impact on the society such that it would place the importance of the rule-making authority on the judiciary. Such instances include old, inappropriate and laws that go against human rights. There may be several areas of law such as contract laws, tort laws, negligence, etc, which need to be decided on a case-by-case basis, and develop judicial precedents for future cases. If the statues are so rigid and unclear, then it becomes important for the judge to develop new laws.In some instances common laws may also be difficult to apply. However, there is another school of thought that believes that judge-made laws do not exist, and the statutes would be providing principles upon which case laws which would be developed. Any kind of a judge-made law would be a trespass on the powers of the legislation (Sackeville, 2001). Another reason why judges cannot make laws is that often if a judge creates a law that applies in a particular case, it would apply retrospectively, which destroys the basic purposes of the law.Thirdly, all the Statutes would overrule the case laws. There may be three kinds of relationships between the legislation-made laws and the common law. Firstly, common laws may supplement the legislation-made laws and in this way strengthen the legal process. Secondly, Parliament-made laws may replace a common law. Thirdly, if a particular Parliament-made law is outdated or is threatening the basic human rights, then the Court can decide that the same should be scrapped. Hence, it can be said that judges can state the law within the limits of the legal world.There are two ways in which laws can be interpreted by the advocate or the judge. One way is to determine what the statute might allow. The second way is to determine what the statute would definitely permit (Gleeson, 2001). Often the appellant courts and t he constitutional courts would be creating laws. If any statute would be impeding the Constitution, the same statute can be invalidated. A court may also implement a new rule or principle if it feels that the result of just implementing a law would not have desired results. This could even be in non-constitutional areas (Sackeville, 2001).

My Goal Statement - 1039 Words

My mission here at State University is to strive to be the best person that I can possibly become. I respect my elders and try to learn good values from them. Also, I try to be a good role model for my friends and youngsters. I appreciate and understand other peoples differences and am happy that we’re not all the same. As a team leader, I try to put these differences and diversity to good effect. I take full responsibility for my actions. I am always accountable to my decisions. If I make a mistake, I am always ready to admit it and learn from it. I always remember that before I can influence someone else, I must first be in charge of myself. If I am not fully convinced of my own decisions, it would be very difficult for me to influence†¦show more content†¦There is a famous saying that says, â€Å"Life is on an incline. Either we go up or we go down. So, I would always strive to improve and never remain stagnant. I would set reachable goals and never exaggerate the m. During planning, I would consult my team members and then take decisions. I would give their opinions a patient hearing and then take decisions which are in the best interests of the team. Once the goals have been set, I would chalk out a definite plan to achieve them. I would remain honest to my cause and myself. I would have equal respect for everyone. People in the upper echelons of the hierarchy and my subordinates will be treated equally. In the inclusive environment at State University, I would try my level best to cooperate with everyone. I would respect the personal dignity and individuality of every member at State University. Ego tussles with anyone would be resolved amicably. Even if I disagree with anyone, I would listen to their views with paying attention and take unbiased decisions. As State University builds various levels of partnerships with other schools and colleges, I would always do my bit to accelerate this process. I would make the effort to help those less fortunate than myself. I would help the future development of my peers and subordinates and provide opportunities for them to becomeShow MoreRelatedMy Personal Statement : My Goals1488 Words   |  6 PagesMy personal mission is to constantly strive to be the best overall person that I can be within my personal and professional life. My goals are to inspire and help others and myself around me to achieve greatness and balance that will to maximize our potential that will transcend the boundaries of our dreams. In addition to my mission statement, my core life values are the foundation of my mission statement, which allows me to uphold my promises and standards. These promises and standards will affordRead MoreMy Personal Statement : My Goals864 Words   |  4 PagesMy personal mission is to constantly strive to be the best overall person that I can be within my personal and professional life. 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I know that I love helping patients and families, and I want to continue to do that. I always am changing my mind on what I want to do after my BSN. I don’t know when or if I will get my masters or continue to work at the bedside for a while. I love what I do and what I do for other people and families. Working in the critical care unit feels like home. I get to do what I love. I attended a webinar sponsored by the American