Transcript Crowded Concert

The good life: Our
search for happiness
Ch. 7
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The “good life” & happiness
“All people seek to be happy, even
those who are about to hang
themselves.”
-Blaise Pascal
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Consider this from St. Augustine
We all want to live
happily; in the whole
human race there is
no one who does not
assent to this
proposition.
• What did Augustine
mean?
• Who was he talking
about?
• Agree? / Disagree?
• How would a
pessimist fit in?
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In Small Groups
• create a list of the top ten things you need
to do/know/have in order to live the good
life.
• Rank them in order of importance.
• Present to the class
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For further discussion
1. What else would you add to the list if it was not going to be shared
with anyone?
2. Would people from another country / region of the world agree with
the class suggestions for the good life? Why or why not?
3. What types of behaviour support the good life? What characteristics
/ values do we need in order to live the good life?
4. What do these lists say about what we value as a culture?
5. What is the connection between what we value and who we are?
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The search to be happy
• Is behind every:
– Vocation
– Choice we make
• Comes out of deepest conviction that
“happiness is our due.”
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According to Christian Tradition
• We were created for happiness
• The desire for happiness is
natural
–Placed by God in the human
heart (CCC #1718)
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All Ethical Theories
• Ethics is in search of the Good
• Most ethical thinkers:
–The good life, i.e., the ethical, moral
life is also the happy life
–In the good that we seek, we seek
also our happiness
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