What is a Good Life and how do we live it?

Café Philo is a way of meeting interesting, inquiring people who enjoy talking about life's big issues and conundrums in a convivial atmosphere, rather than a heavy-duty philosophy seminar. Read more about our approach here.
NOTE: the pub does not charge for our space on the understanding that we all purchase something from the bar. Please support them.

This month’s topic let’s us share our thoughts on how we live our lives. What are characteristics of a “good” life? How does living the good life, (hedonism), differ from living a good life?

How do terms like “pleasure”, “joy” and “happiness” differ?
Are these useful objectives in themselves; by-products of other approaches to how we live our lives; or the result of things that may happen to us outside our control?
How can we best handle adversities in life?

To what extent can “a good life” be judged subjectively by the experience of the person living it, or by others viewing the person’s behaviours and accomplishments?

Philosophers have been debating issues like these from at least the time of Aristotle, and more recently science seems to have something to offer, too.

For Aristotle, humans were uniquely the rational animal and so living a good human life had to respect this. “Eudaimonia” referred to a life of flourishing, in which a person constantly strives for self-improvement, to be more virtuous, wiser, more thoughtful and self-aware. Key moral virtues were moderation, courage, and justice – but cultivating these was not sufficient to ensure a good life, Aristotle thought, because of external factors outside your control (e.g. your birth, environment, acquisition of wealth, etc.).

The Stoics argued that we cannot control or rely on external events, so we should not depend on them for our happiness. Instead they advocate practices to help us accept and come to terms with our reality – ideas that echo aspects of Buddhism. But can you really feel fulfilled if your basic needs are not met?

Humanism sees us having freedom of will and action – we find our own “meaning” of life through things we enjoy. This has some parallels to the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which advocates finding the intersection of what we love doing; what we are good at; what the world needs; and what there is a market for.

Over the last 25 years “positive psychology” has focused on the make-up of well-rounded, happy individuals, rather than studying only psychological pathologies.
Studies show that it is connecting with the world around us that makes a meaningful life. For example, Martin Seligman describes "flourishing" in terms of Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and purpose, and Accomplishments. Recent developments in the field have focused on the broader “meaning of life” than subjective “happiness” and have explored cultural contexts rather than simply the individual.

So, what do you think makes life worth living and brings happiness and joy? Should we quietly accept our limitations and misfortunes or should we try to change ourselves and our circumstances? Should we be forever attempting to achieve the most we are capable of, or be content simply relaxing and enjoying the simple pleasures of life, whatever we find those to be? Can we achieve happiness alone or is a healthy friendship network essential?

Optional further reading:
What Does It Mean To Live The Good Life? https://is.gd/EVJCvz
Eudaimonia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia
Stoicism & Buddhism: Lessons, Similarities and Differences https://dailystoic.com/stoicism-buddhism/
Stephen Fry's Humanist View https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvz0mmF6NW4
The Philosophy of Ikigai https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai/
Positive Psychology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology