PHI-FPX2000_FuentesRebecca_Assessment1-1
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2000
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Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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The Good Life
Rebecca Fuentes
PHI-FPX2000
Ethics
Capella University
January 15, 2024
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Every individual strives to live what they consider to be a good life. However, a good life
varies from person to person, depending on what they value as good. Philosophers, over time, studied the idea of what it means to live a good life and the meaning of it. Defining a good life is more about moral approval (Westacott, 2023). When an individual states that they had a good life, it is naturally thought that they are a good person who must have practiced their essential virtues (Westacott, 2023). With that, everyone has important core values they carry throughout their lives. Their core values assist with decision-making and how they live their lives. This essay identifies the meaning of a good life and essential core values. When most individuals think of happiness, they associate happiness with a positive state of mind, which, in turn, assumes that the individual is living happily (Westacott, 2023). The issue with this thinking is that if an individual is divulging pleasurable experiences, it does not necessarily mean they are living well. An example of this could be an individual who enjoys going out every evening consuming overwhelming amounts of alcohol, which impacts their lives
in a negative way, such as being unproductive. Although this pleases them, and they are happy with this lifestyle, this would not be described as living well. The old saying that money does not buy happiness is that happiness is of intrinsic value and not instrumental value. Aristotle and Socrates both considered living a good life to being a morally good person (Westacott, 2023). As an individual, it is essential to do what is morally good over personal selfish reasons, live a purposeful life, and have meaningful goals to work towards that impact their life positively. Doing so could be described as living well or a good life. Core values are a part of everyone’s life, varying from one individual to another. They provide a sense of stability, direction, and peace of mind (Riley, 2020). Core values are
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principles and beliefs that are very important to an individual’s life. These core values are what individuals live by and carry throughout their lives.
A few vital core values that an individual can possess are discipline, gratitude, empathy,
purpose, and humility (Riley, 2020). These core values tie into what was mentioned: living a
selfless life, working towards goals, and leading a purposeful life can make up for a good life.
Disciplined means sacrificing small or big things to get what you want rather than giving in to
instant gratification (Riley, 2020). Being disciplined, gratitude, and humility is involved when
working towards goals. These core values can assist individuals in meeting their goals
throughout their lives. Having a purpose in life is essential when pursuing any individual's
endeavors. Not having a purpose in life could make an individual feel lost or non-productive,
leading to not living a meaningful life. Empathy is another core value that is great when living
through life. Empathy is understanding people and the motivations behind an individual’s actions
(Riley, 2020). The personal core values of discipline, empathy, gratitude, purpose, and humility are
important, which at times may be more important than others. With that, core values can
sometimes conflict, especially during difficult decisions. Individuals may have to choose one
core value over another in certain situations. For example, you may be disciplined in reaching a
goal at a particular time. However, taking time away from that goal to help the family can trump
the other core values. Although meeting that goal is important, not meeting the goal can
negatively impact their life. Being empathic for the individual family member would be more
vital as it is an act of selflessness. Along with core values, there are ethical obligations to consider and how individual core
values correlate to ethical obligations. Ethics is a standard of what is considered to be right and
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what is to be wrong, which is known as the code of ethics (D Jager, 2002). Ethical obligations
are to adhere to those codes of ethics and to refrain from doing certain things. Aligning core
values with ethical obligations can benefit a well-lived life. This is due to treating others
ethically and doing right by individuals. Helping and treating others kindly can feed into other
important core values in leading a well-fulfilled life. The connection between happiness and
ethical conduct is treating everyone with respect and integrity. This aligns with other core values
such as respect, empathy, understanding, humility, compassion, and patience. With core values
aligned with ethical obligations an individual can lead a happy well-lived life.
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References
De Jager, P. (2002). Ethics: Good, evil, and moral duty. Information Management Journal, 36 (5), 82–85. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com
%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fethics-good-evil-moral-duty%2Fdocview
%2F227775277%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965
Riley, D. (2020, January 27). What Are Core Values? 31 Core Values to Live By. Lifehack
. https://www.lifehack.org/861427/core-values-list#what-are-core-values
Westacott, Emrys. (2023, April 5). What Does It Mean to Live the Good Life?
Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-good-life-4038226