What is required for a person to have a “good life?” The answer is not quite clear. Some believe the good life consists solely in the experience of pleasure, while others think it consists of the acquisition of some set of goods. Another claim, one that consists of satisfying desires, is closest to my view. I will explain why the good life consists in satisfying desires, address an objection to my stance, and argue against the objection.
My opinion regarding the good life parallels the desire-satisfaction theory. In order for life to go well, desires must be satisfied. When desires are satisfied, feelings of fulfillment ensue. Fulfillment of desires leads to the “good” and happiness in life. The unhappiness and “bad” in life are caused when …show more content…
In the calculation, more intense desires will contribute more happiness or unhappiness towards the total than weak desires. For example, if one intense desire is fulfilled while one weak desire is not, the net value is a moderate amount of happiness. It is difficult to place a quantitative value on the intensity of desires, so arbitrary values may be used as long as they are consistent. For instance, I may obtain five units of happiness as a result of winning the lottery. On the other hand, as a result of not winning a weakly desired pink teddy bear, I may experience one unit of unhappiness. After subtracting the units of unhappiness from the units of happiness, the net happiness is calculated to be four, meaning life is going well based on those two desires. If the comparison routinely results in net happiness, one is living the good …show more content…
As a counterexample, say Mr. Memba achieves happiness through means that are considered outrageous to most others in society. That is, Mr. Memba desires to harm himself, because for whatever reason, it makes him happy. To others, it looks like he is living a miserable life because he is constantly harming himself. At the same time, his actions lead to undesirable consequences, such as the absence of friends. Throughout his entire life, he desires, and successfully fulfills his desires, to harm himself. Additionally, it should be noted his satisfied desires outweigh his frustrated desires. To most people, it is considered obvious that Mr. Memba is not living the good life. He is living a miserable life through the constant harmful acts he performs on himself. However, according to the desire-satisfaction theory, Mr. Memba is living the good life. This cannot possibly be true, for he thrives on desires that are negatively looked upon by society. Furthermore, objectively speaking, there is noticeable body injury that affects his lifespan. It is not necessarily wrong to hurt himself solely because almost everyone views it to be wrong. It is also wrong because regardless of anyone’s viewpoint, Mr. Memba’s body is critically suffering from his desires. Undoubtedly, his life will be significantly shortened and his body will not function properly. The good life, they say, cannot possibly consist of
My opinion regarding the good life parallels the desire-satisfaction theory. In order for life to go well, desires must be satisfied. When desires are satisfied, feelings of fulfillment ensue. Fulfillment of desires leads to the “good” and happiness in life. The unhappiness and “bad” in life are caused when …show more content…
In the calculation, more intense desires will contribute more happiness or unhappiness towards the total than weak desires. For example, if one intense desire is fulfilled while one weak desire is not, the net value is a moderate amount of happiness. It is difficult to place a quantitative value on the intensity of desires, so arbitrary values may be used as long as they are consistent. For instance, I may obtain five units of happiness as a result of winning the lottery. On the other hand, as a result of not winning a weakly desired pink teddy bear, I may experience one unit of unhappiness. After subtracting the units of unhappiness from the units of happiness, the net happiness is calculated to be four, meaning life is going well based on those two desires. If the comparison routinely results in net happiness, one is living the good …show more content…
As a counterexample, say Mr. Memba achieves happiness through means that are considered outrageous to most others in society. That is, Mr. Memba desires to harm himself, because for whatever reason, it makes him happy. To others, it looks like he is living a miserable life because he is constantly harming himself. At the same time, his actions lead to undesirable consequences, such as the absence of friends. Throughout his entire life, he desires, and successfully fulfills his desires, to harm himself. Additionally, it should be noted his satisfied desires outweigh his frustrated desires. To most people, it is considered obvious that Mr. Memba is not living the good life. He is living a miserable life through the constant harmful acts he performs on himself. However, according to the desire-satisfaction theory, Mr. Memba is living the good life. This cannot possibly be true, for he thrives on desires that are negatively looked upon by society. Furthermore, objectively speaking, there is noticeable body injury that affects his lifespan. It is not necessarily wrong to hurt himself solely because almost everyone views it to be wrong. It is also wrong because regardless of anyone’s viewpoint, Mr. Memba’s body is critically suffering from his desires. Undoubtedly, his life will be significantly shortened and his body will not function properly. The good life, they say, cannot possibly consist of