Thursday, January 23, 2020

Thursday, January 23rd

Starter 1.23: What is your personal definition of “a life well-lived”?  At the end of your life, what do you hope to be able to look back and say?

Solo or with a partner, answer the following questions on a piece of paper or a Google doc. Share the doc with Jessica and be sure both partners' names are on it.
1. Define "Eudaimonia."  Google it beyond this reading.  Does this Google search add to your definition?  How might Aristotle's definition of happiness differ from the way Stanford researcher Jennifer Aaker defined it in the very first reading we did in this project? (see JOURNAL 1.7  on "The meaningful life is a road worth traveling") 
2. According to Aristotle, what makes humans different than the other forms of nature?  What does this difference have to do with the purpose of our existence and our pursuit of happiness?
3. For Aristotle, how do we live a happy and meaningful life?  What might this involve? Give specifics.
4. Explain the Golden Mean.  Use the table on the last page of your reading to help you understand it.  Look up any words on the table that you don't already know; annotate the meaning and add it to your vocabulary!
5.  What might an existentialist say to Aristotle's theory of a meaningful life?