What Is A Good Life in the Philosophy Term?

Here is a scenario:

I had a very enjoyable Tuesday — surfing, then a good meal with friends, and reading a work of great literature. Am I any nearer working out the meaning or purpose of life, or the features of the Good Life?

In our daily life, we are always busy with many things outside. For students, they may be busy with studying at school, or doing part-time jobs. For adults, they fall into a spin of working where they can never get out. So having a day for themselves to enjoy their life, relax, do things they like is a gift. But is there an argument about this topic that are any nearer working out the meaning or purpose of life, or the features of the Good Life? The answer is yes because they just simply enjoyed their lives and they are enjoying their happiness in life which is one purpose of life and a source in life too.

The purpose of life depends on what they want their lives to be. I remember in the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, the young prince Hamlet used to be a prince with many passions; he had a happy royal family; he had the love of his life. It seemed like he had a good life. But then, a tragedy struck when the King was killed by Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet started to seek vengeance upon his father’s death. Then, Hamlet’s only purpose in life is revenge because it is the only way to make his life meaningful. The situations and the subjects that drive the protagonist make their struggles meaningful in a world where there is meaningless fighting and death. A purpose in life can also relate to justice.

On Tuesday 20th 2021, Derek Chauvin, who was a cop who killed a black man named George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, had been found guilty for all of his charges. Floyd’s family and African American community are so happy and so joyful because finally justice has been served for the family. Or, a purpose in life is also the goal that one individual wants to achieve in life. Everyone always wants themselves to be rich, to have houses, expensive cars, and live a life without any difficulty. But there are some people who can achieve their purpose and some don’t. It’s maybe their purpose in life is not big enough for them to try or to fulfill. Life has meaning because it has a purpose, direction, or results in something that lasts forever and makes sense in life. When you play chess, the only purpose you must focus on is winning and that is the goal.

When you go out anywhere, there will be danger. Recently, there are a few mass shootings in public places which have caused pain to everyone around. I will give out an example of a tragedy in Atlanta, Georgia where a shooter fired a gun into three different massage parlors and killed 8 people. That action is considered as a hate crime. The suspect has been taken into custody and waited to be trialed. The victim’s families must be desperate right now because they have lost their loved ones forever. Their only purpose right now is that the killer will be punished for what he did.

Returning to the question “I had a very enjoyable Tuesday — surfing, then a good meal with friends, and reading a work of great literature, am I nearly working out the meaning or purpose of life, or the features of the Good Life?”. I answer yes because it is normal in life. In my life, I am always trying to live with my purpose which is pursue my goal as a writer and a business owner. I study and I work part-time to have money for myself in the future. To be honest, I have not had free time for myself in weeks because I cannot find time for myself with all of the work that I have to deal with. Sometimes, when I finally have time for myself, another thing comes and I have to work out on it. I feel tired and want to give up. But then, I think about my goal and my purpose in life. I can see that we were born and we have inside us a different purpose to live in this life. They have a purpose to be a famous person; they have a purpose to be a scientist who can find out a cure for some diseases; they have a purpose to be a politician to change things around. When they decide what they want in life, they won’t give up on making them become the reality. Till then, their life has completed the meaning of life. Simply having a day for ourselves can add to the meaning of life because it gives humans the pleasure, the happiness even though it only lasts for one day. According to Layard, he wrote that “We are programmed to seek happiness” (Layard, 224). It clearly states one thing that everyone must find happiness for themselves. It is not something that pops up in front of everyone immediately and they get it. No, they have to find it for themselves or they work to have it.

Surfing, having a good meal with friends, and reading a book are like gifts and mannas that life gives to us. Especially on Tuesday, a weekday that we are working and busy with so many things. That is being considered as a source of happiness, which is that humans are deeply social beings. Layard wrote “Most people prefer to be in company most of the time.” (Layard, 225). With them, that means everything. If the purpose of life is about facing four walls of work place, then, life won’t make any sense at all. People will feel like they are the prisoner of money. Agreeing that money is important in life because it can give us prosperity. But not because of that, humans forget about things around them. Simply enjoying a day with friends or staying with family can add to their lives the memories and experience with friends. It creates happiness for one individual. Also, there is not a lot of time that we can sit down to read a book which we bought a long time ago and put on the bookshelf. So having time to read a book is definitely a chance for us to relax; escape the hustle and the bustle of life to get into the world of literature. When we die, we cannot bring all of those things like property with us. But only memories and good times will stay with us even if there is after life, we will always be happy.

The purpose of living in this life is not only burying our head into working. That will make us run out the meaning of life when you don’t even care about the things around you. A source of happiness is everyone around us because they appear in our lives in order to help us whether it is good or bad. They will make our lives more meaningful; they can help you to overcome every challenge in life; they may hurt you but it will make you think who you should play with or who you should avoid. French philosopher, Albert Camus, used to say about the meaning of life: “The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself.” I cannot agree more. Living in life is all about being happy and enjoying life because life is short, every moment must be appreciated and added up to the meaning of life as well as the purpose.