Deug en Lewensin

Abstract

Probably every human being strives after a good (meaningful) life. This may be an oversimplification, but if it were true, the question surely would be: Is modern moral society a true reflection of what a good life, and therefore a meaningful life, means to the individual? In the analytical tradition, there is a notion that a meaningful life cannot be logically formulated. Still, there are contemporary philosophers who argue that the meaning of life is normative, based on the distinction between right and wrong, in other words, one knows what is the right thing one ought to do. The right thing for the individual to do is closely linked to their attitude to life and their actions but, above all, to virtues, virtues as well-practised life skills that eventually flow from the actions. One is tempted to refer simplistically to the notions of the meaning of life and of virtues, although both are woven into a complex tapestry of structures, concepts and activities that should be dealt with sensitively and wisely in a specific context. An aspect of both the term virtue and the term meaning in/of life is the concept of ‘good’, which relates closely to Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia, which refers to a happy ethical life. From the time of ancient Greece to the present day, people have been striving after the good life, trying to determine how to achieve it. In man’s search for the good life, a great many ideas about it have been expressed in philosophical, political and economic terms. These ideas varied greatly and were concerned with God and reason, transcendence and immanence, duty ethics (Kant) and utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill), supernaturalism and naturalism, to name but a few. Alasdair MacIntyre points out that Aristotle’s virtue ethics is the only philosophy that stood the test of time and can still provide us with universal principles for the rehabilitation of the immoral society with which the modern individual is confronted. The integration of virtues and meaning in/of life changes the notion of meaning in/of life into something practical that allows the attitudes of people to life to be influenced in a positive way. In order to change the current moral decay in society, one has to take into account the nature of modern society. Nietzsche argued that the modern society is caught up in a race for power, comfort, pleasure and a materialistic lifestyle. The result is a

society that blindly follows those traditional values that are worthless and, by doing so, adopts a ‘herd mentality’. This, however, engenders the urge in the truly sovereign individual to escape from this immoral mess, to rise above it and to live an authentic, virtuous and meaningful life. This ascendancy requires a combination of insight (the true, or logos), virtue (the good, or ethos) and passion (the beautiful, or pathos) to achieve a revival of virtue ethics. To succeed in converting virtue ethics into action, philosophical counselling will be used to guide and support the sovereign individual who strives for a meaningful life.