The Good Life
The Greek philosopher Aristotle distinguished between "mere life" and "the good life." The Good Life involves the principles that express our highest ideals: life as we would like to live it. Not food as nourishment, but food as delight and pleasure; not shelter as mere protection from the elements, but shelter as artistic expression. For some, the The Good Life involves the pursuit of philosophy and theology. For others, it is about politics and economics, psychology and sociology. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that we all have an inalienable right to "the pursuit of happiness." What is happiness? How do we pursue it? How should we pursue it? Are there times we should refuse to make the pursuit of happiness our life goal? In this series, eight of UC San Diego's finest teachers and scholars share their pursuit of The Good Life.
