What Makes a Good Life?
For thousands of years, philosophers have asked the same basic question: What should I do with my life?
This guide simplifies 2,000 years of philosophical wisdom into practical insights.
1. Understanding What's Truly Valuable
Two Types of Value
The first step is distinguishing between two types of value:
Intrinsic value – Things valuable for their own sake (happiness, love, wisdom, family)
Instrumental value – Things valuable as tools to get something else (money, status, technology)
Think of money: it's just paper and metal. Its value comes entirely from what you can buy with it. If you couldn't buy anything, money would be worthless. That's instrumental value.
Now think of spending time with someone you love. That experience is valuable in itself, not because it gets you something else. That's intrinsic value.
We often confuse these categories. We chase money, fame, or efficiency as if they were ends in themselves, forgetting they're just tools.
Intrinsic: Happiness, love, virtue, wisdom, beauty, inner peace
Instrumental: Money, fame, technology, efficiency, status
2. What Different Philosophies Say About the Good Life
Aristotle: Excellence in Action
Aristotle said the good life is about flourishing through virtuous action. It's not about feeling good, it's about doing good—consistently exercising excellence over a complete life.
Key points:
Happiness comes from activity, not passive enjoyment
You need both moral virtues (good character) and intellectual virtues (wisdom)
Some external goods (health, basic resources, friends) help you live virtuously
The Stoics: Inner Freedom
Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus taught that virtue alone is enough for happiness. Everything else—wealth, health, reputation—doesn't actually affect your wellbeing.
The core practice: Focus only on what you can control (your thoughts, judgments, and character). Everything else is outside your control and shouldn't disturb you.
The four virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, temperance.
Epicurus: Simple Pleasures
Epicurus identified pleasure as the highest good—but not wild indulgence. He meant the absence of pain and mental disturbance (ataraxia).
Focus on: friendship, philosophical conversation, and freedom from unnecessary desires.
Nietzsche: Creating Your Own Values
Nietzsche challenged all previous moralities as "herd mentality." He believed most of what society calls "good"—compassion, equality, humility—actually suppresses human greatness.
His radical idea: Don't follow the crowd. Create your own values through a life-affirming project that expresses your unique power and creativity. The question to ask: Does this idea help me grow stronger, or does it make me comfortable and mediocre?
Existentialism: Freedom and Authenticity
Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir argued that we have no predetermined essence or purpose. We are "condemned to be free"—totally responsible for creating our own meaning.
The goal: Live authentically by acknowledging your freedom and making genuine choices, not just conforming to social expectations. Your freedom is tied to others' freedom—you can't truly be free if those around you aren't.
Eastern Philosophy: Harmony and Self-Cultivation
Neo-Confucianism teaches that humans have an inherently good nature that gets obscured by selfish desires. The path forward is self-cultivation through two practices:
Maintaining focused, respectful attention in all activities
Investigating the patterns in everything around you and within yourself
Zen Buddhism emphasizes direct experience over intellectual understanding. Through meditation (zazen), you can experience enlightenment—a "dropping off of body and mind" where the separate self dissolves.
The practice itself is the goal, not a means to something else.
Note: This guide prioritizes clarity and practical application over academic precision. Some nuance has been sacrificed for the sake of clear, actionable guidance.
3. How to Evaluate Ideas
To live well, you need tools to distinguish good ideas from bad ones. Here are five powerful methods:
The Socratic Method: Find Contradictions
Test beliefs by looking for inconsistencies. If an idea contradicts itself or conflicts with other things you believe, something is wrong. Ask probing questions until the weakness reveals itself.
Kant's Categorical Imperative: Could Everyone Do This?
Ask: "What if everyone acted this way?" If the world would fall apart if everyone followed this principle, it's a bad principle. Also: Always treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as tools for your goals.
Pragmatism: Does It Work?
William James said truth is what works in practice. Ask: "What concrete difference does believing this make in real life?" If an idea has no practical impact, it might not matter. Focus on ideas with tangible "cash value."
Moore's Open Question: Is It Really Good?
For any proposed definition of "good," you can always meaningfully ask: "But is that really good?" This shows that goodness can't be reduced to any single property like pleasure or usefulness. Trust your moral intuition as a final check.
4. Practical Wisdom: Where to Focus Your Energy
After examining these traditions, here are three core principles for living well:
Principle 1: Prioritize What's Intrinsically Valuable
Stop chasing money, status, or efficiency as if they were the goal. They're just tools. Focus your energy on things valuable in themselves: wisdom, meaningful relationships, beauty, virtue, inner peace.
Ask yourself: "Am I pursuing this because it actually matters, or just because it helps me get something else?"
Principle 2: Filter Ideas Rigorously
Don't accept ideas just because they're popular or comfortable. Use multiple filters:
Check for internal contradictions (Socrates)
Ask if it could be universal (Kant)
Test if it works in practice (James)
Trust your moral intuition (Moore)
Be especially skeptical of ideas that promise comfort or convenience—they often lead to mediocrity.
Principle 3: Practice Consistent Self-Cultivation
Excellence is a habit, not a one-time achievement. Choose a practice and stick with it:
Daily reflection on your actions and character
Meditation or contemplative practice
Regular engagement with challenging ideas
Pursuing a meaningful project that demands your growth
The good life isn't something you achieve and then stop. It's an ongoing activity of becoming better.
Conclusion
The good life isn't about finding one perfect answer. Different traditions emphasize different aspects—action, inner peace, freedom, harmony. But they all agree on this: the good life requires deliberate effort.
You must distinguish what truly matters from what's merely useful. You must think critically about the ideas you encounter. And you must continually work on becoming better through practice and reflection.
The question isn't "What should I do right now?" but "What kind of person am I becoming through my daily choices?" Focus your energy there, and the rest will follow.
(h/t gemini)