{"id":656,"date":"2023-04-30T19:17:02","date_gmt":"2023-04-30T19:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/?p=656"},"modified":"2023-07-11T18:40:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T18:40:35","slug":"the-good-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/?p=656","title":{"rendered":"The Good Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you live a “good life”?\u00a0\u00a0It’s a question philosophers have pondered and pollsters still pose. Answers vary a lot, given differences in opinion and the breadth of the issue. What often comes to mind is a definition of happiness or what makes a life satisfying. For most people, the question entails both \u201cself-directed\u201d aspects of personal experience and \u201cother-directed\u201d elements of one\u2019s place among others.[i]<\/a> \u00a0Definitions of the good life can refer to abundance (\u201cluxury, pleasure, or comfort\u201d) or insight (\u201csimplicity, health and morality).\u201d[ii]<\/a> \u00a0Other qualities include freedom or the idea of life as a journey.\u00a0\u00a0This chapter explores how people view and pursue the good life, and what obstacles may stand in their way.<\/p>\n

Discussions of the good life date to the ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia<\/em>, a word commonly translated as \u201chappiness,\u201d \u201cflourishing,\u201d or \u201cwell-being.\u201d[iii]<\/a> Aristotle cast eudaimonia as an aspirational state that individuals could achieve by demonstrating authenticity and virtue in the eyes of the divine. This differed somewhat from the more immediate state of pleasure and enjoyment known as hedonia<\/em>. As later philosophers gave people more credit for self-determination, enlightenment era figures like Ren\u00e9 Descartes and Baruch Spinosa linked the good life to a reasoned control of human passions.[iv]<\/a> Christian interpretations of the good life sometimes gave it a moral character in beliefs that humans were created in God\u2019s image, which is \u201cgood\u201d by definition. In this line of thinking, virtue and success in life go hand-in-hand.<\/p>\n

Historical figures sometimes made lists to define the good life. Socrates said such a life should follow five principles: temperance, courage, piety, justice, and wisdom.[v]<\/a> Gautama Buddha spoke of an eightfold path of understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.[vi]<\/a> Almost all traditional good life lists had people conforming to widely held doctrines or belief systems, with the \u201cself\u201d cast as an element in a larger plan. In today\u2019s more secular times most people see the good life as a matter of perspective. Unfortunately, this relativization has brought with it a certain emptiness. A simple online search for good life will provide you with a list of “bucket lists” of activities such as traveling or skydiving.<\/p>\n

Odd as this sounds, the good life often gets defined by its opposite \u2013\u2013 the absence of trouble or pain.\u00a0 Philosophical hedonism takes this approach in trying to minimize what gets in the way of happiness. \u00a0\u00a0Today\u2019s field of positive psychology has much the same goal of \u201crelieving misery and uprooting the disabling conditions of life.\u201d[vii]<\/a> And let’s face it, in these stressful times many people see themselves as inadequate or lacking, asking themselves “Could my life be better?” In her book The Morality of Happiness<\/em>, Julia Annas reflects on this deficit-oriented view \u2013\u2013 arguing that it is precisely this scarcity, lack, and the resulting unhappiness<\/em> that drives human motivation. “Am I satisfied with my life as a whole, with the way it has developed and promises to continue?” [viii]<\/a>\u00a0 Annas asks. “Most of us are dissatisfied with both our achievement and our promise, and it is only the dissatisfied who have the urge to live differently, and hence the need to find out ways of living differently.\u201d[ix]<\/a><\/p>\n

Sensible as it might seem, this widely held view can make people blame themselves for matters beyond their control. Fiercely competitive cultures like the U.S. create more losers than winners, so much so that eighteenth century observer Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of \u201cAmerica\u2019s daily battle\u201d for life\u2019s necessities.[x]<\/a> Especially in recent years, U.S. public sentiment has alternated between self-recrimination and other-oriented anger. A decade of fiscal decline and political calamity has given the jitters to the most sober citizens, dividing many against their neighbors or even themselves. Searching for answers is no easy task in hyperbolic media saturated post-truth era in which most people get their news from comedy shows.\u00a0 One-click shopping promises everything faster and better in update culture churning out more of the same.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s fast-paced life takes a toll on the good life \u2013\u2013 and particularly on happiness \u2013\u2013 because the sense of well-being is tied directly to one\u2019s outlook toward the future. In her book The Promise of Happiness<\/em>, Sarah Ahmed argued that happiness is all about anticipation. People think about happiness far more than they experience it, she explained, so that \u201chappiness functions as a promise\u201d linked to certain objects, situations, and social relationships. This anticipation can be so powerful in daily life that it can cause anxiety, especially when \u201ctrue happiness\u201d doesn\u2019t match expectations. The result can be \u201can anxious narrative of self-doubt (why am I not made happy by this, what is wrong with me?).[xi]<\/a><\/p>\n

Nervous about the future, individuals retreat into worlds of self-interest while fretting about others passing them by. In growing numbers Americans now hunger for products, advice, or services to fix things, whether via phone apps, media diversions, or the short-term pleasure of consumer purchases. Answering this demand has been an explosion of improvement products, exercise and diet regimes, self-help books, courses, apps, and meditation programs. Indeed, entire new categories of consumer culture have appeared to fill the needs of a society wanting something \u2013\u2013 anything \u2013\u2013 to help find the good life.\u00a0Legalized weed, CDB products, and all manner of intoxicants now constitute a booming industry. In this frenetic atmosphere, stressed-out consumers are getting fed up with ads making them feel worse about themselves.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the very language of advertising itself has changed. \u201cBe Confident” (Est\u00e9e Lauder), \u201cTake Control\u201d (AMX), “Steal the Show” (Max Factor). You’ve seen this new pitch.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a growing strategy called \u201cempowerment marketing.\u201d Media-savvy consumers want advertising that matches their evolving sensibilities -\u2013 telling them “Yes You Can” (Sprint) or “Be All the You Can Be\u201d (U.S. Army). \u00a0As explained by concept originator Jonathan Sachs, \u201cTraditional marketing depends on creating anxiety in the customer in convincing her that she has a need that only the product or service sold can help her fill.\u201d[xii]<\/a>\u00a0 It\u2019s based on inadequacy, and it\u2019s often untrue. In contrast, \u201cEmpowerment marketing subverts traditional marketing techniques by recasting the consumer as the hero who has the power to effect change and use the product or service being sold to achieve success.\u201d The key lies in telling a hitherto suppressed truth. Apple\u2019s famous \u201c1984\u201d ad, Dove\u2019s \u201cReal Beauty\u201d campaign, and political slogans like \u201cYes We Can\u201d and “Make America Great Again” are well-known examples.<\/p>\n

Consumer empowerment may promise a better life, but it also has troubling implications \u2013\u2013 the notion of \u201cpersonal fulfillment\u201d as a sponsored aspect of the human psyche. These schemes can be especially pernicious for anyone feeling pushed around in daily life. Many such ads are pitched directly at women, suggesting that a fresh perspective or a little more confidence can turn things around. Such feel good approaches can make a person feel better, but don\u2019t always get at the root of the problem. \u00a0Writing in her book Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny<\/em>, Sarah Banet-Weiser said that this puts all the pressure on the individual and fails to address matters of structural disadvantage.[xiii]<\/a> As Banet-Weiser wrote, populist feminism encourages readers to think to themselves \u201cI\u2019m confident, I have power, but I\u2019m not actually going to go and try to appeal to the state to change wage discrimination or racism.\u201d[xiv]<\/a><\/p>\n

Ads like this upend the way we think about advertising. The question isn’t so much whether something “bad” is promoted or sold, but whether “good” qualities are turned into products. This is a form of seductive conditioning that draws consumers into purchasing by making them believe that they are in control.\u00a0\u00a0Here again, the process feeds on consumers feeling badly about themselves. Otherwise, why would anyone be drawn to empowerment? It is a form of traditional marketing that reaches into new territory while still conforming to familiar inadequacies (missed potential, imperfect appearances, loneliness, for example), and along the way implies prejudice or outright disfavor toward anyone without what is being sold. And if the product is out of reach, you’re in double trouble.<\/p>\n

This opening chapter will explore different versions of the good life from a critical perspective. Discussion begins with a look at the \u201cself\u201d \u2013\u2013 exploring why so many people now seek transformation. From this we\u2019ll turn to the concept of happiness and explore how its meaning has changed over time to include attributes of wellness, prosperity, and self-knowledge. This will lead to consideration of life coaching, advice services, and commercial therapy programs now available to help people find what they want out of life. Demand for such assistance has intensified in today\u2019s high-pressure, fast paced world, especially as economic and political uncertainty have raised levels of anxiety and stress to record levels. Not that everybody experiences these difficulties equally. Disparities in income, education, and employment opportunities build on bias and discrimination to advantage some groups and disadvantage others. All of this has dampened public appetites for one-size-fits-all programs of social betterment, while raising questions of what is possible in a society that wants to be fair and just.<\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> George Guignon, The Good Life<\/em> (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1999) p, vii.<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> \u201cThe good life,\u201d Oxford Dictionaries<\/em> (Jan. 22, 2023) https:\/\/www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com\/us\/definition\/english\/the-good-life (accessed Jan. 22, 2023).<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> \u201cVirtue Ethics,\u201d Stanford Encyclopedia <\/em>of Philosophy (Dec. 8, 2016) https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/ethics-virtue\/#EudaVirtEthi (accessed Jan. 27, 2023).<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> \u201cSpinoza\u2019s Psychological Theory,\u201d Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/em> (2020) https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/spinoza-psychological\/ (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> See John Kekes, Moral Wisdom and Good Lives<\/em>, (Ithaca: Cornel, 1997) p. 32.<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> John Allan, \u201cThe Eight-Fold Path,\u201d buddha.net (n.d.) (accessed Jan. 27, 2023).<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> Martin P. Seligman, Flourish (A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being)<\/em> (New York: Atria, 2012) p.1.<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/a> Julia Annas, The Morality of Happiness<\/em> (London and New York: Oxford, 1995) p. 27.<\/p>\n

[ix]<\/a> The Morality of Happiness<\/em>, pp. 289.<\/p>\n

[x]<\/a> Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. II<\/em> trans. Henry Reeve (1835) Project Guttenberg (2013) https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/816\/816-h\/816-h.htm#link2HCH0025 (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).<\/p>\n

[xi]<\/a> Sarah Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness<\/em> (Durham: Duke, 2010) p. 36.<\/p>\n

[xii]<\/a> Jonathan Sachs, \u201cEmpowerment Marketing: Advertising to Humans as More than Just Selfish Machines,\u201d Fast Company<\/em> (May 21, 2012) https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/1679785\/empowerment-marketing-advertising-to-humans-as-more-than-just-selfish-machines (accessed Jan. 21, 2023).<\/p>\n

[xiii]<\/a> Sarah Banet-Weiser, Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny<\/em> (Durham: Duke, 2018).<\/p>\n

[xiv]<\/a> Rebecca Jennings, \u201cWhy Feminist Advertising Doesn\u2019t Always Make Us Feel Better,\u201d Vox (Nov. 5, 2018) https:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-goods\/2018\/11\/5\/18056004\/feminist-advertising-empowered-sarah-banet-weiser (accessed Jan. 22, 2023).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you live a “good life”?\u00a0\u00a0It’s a question philosophers have pondered and pollsters still pose. Answers vary a lot, given differences in opinion and the breadth of the issue. What often comes to mind is a definition of happiness or what makes a life satisfying. For most people, the question entails both \u201cself-directed\u201d aspects … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Good Life”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[174,179,154,177,176,178],"class_list":["post-656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-advertising","tag-ahmed","tag-empowerment","tag-good","tag-happiness","tag-life-flourishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=656"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":670,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions\/670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidtrend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}