I
introduced A C Grayling’s book, The God Argument, in two earlier posts. This post presents the professor’s views on
good life.
Grayling
posits seven characteristics of a
good life.
The
first characteristic is that a good
life is a meaningful one. Meaning is “a set of values and their
associated goals that give a life its shape and direction.” Having children to look after or achieving
success in one’s profession or any other very ordinary goal can make life
meaningful. But Grayling says quoting
Oscar Wilde that everyone’s map of the world should have a Utopia on it. That is, everyone should dream of a better
world and strive to materialise that dream, if life is to be truly
meaningful.
Ability
to form relationships with other
people is the second
characteristic. Intimacy with at least
one other person is an important feature of a meaningful life. “Good relationships make better people,” says
Grayling. Broken relationships are one’s
own making, though others might have contributed to the failure.
Activity is the third characteristic. It is about doing, making or learning
something. Life would be a big bore
without its inevitable demands and obligations.
Activity is about meeting those demands and obligations. “We are animals who thrive when engaged, and
suffer from idleness,” says Grayling.
The normal human occupations can take the place of activity. But Grayling recommends another important
occupation: express one’s ideas and invite others to test them and criticise
them. This is similar to what science
does. Science invites others to test and
challenge its inventions and discoveries.
Our ideas mature when we do this.
We become fuller human beings in the process.
A
good life is consistently marked by honesty or authenticity. This is the fourth characteristic. This is about a “directness, emotional
honesty, a refusal to escape into pieties, nonsense or comforting illusions,
but above all an ability to ‘see things steadily and see them whole’...” We live in a world of compromises and
pretences and bald untruths which enslave us.
Authenticity gives us freedom. Autonomy
is a better word. Autonomy means “being
one’s own lawmaker at the core of one’s moral being.” It is the inner freedom one achieves in spite
of the constraints imposed on one by one’s upbringing, society, and other
external factors or forces.
The
last three characteristics are
highly inter-related and Grayling discusses them together. They are:
Fifth:
Manifestation of one’s autonomy:
This means that the individual accepts responsibility for the choices that
shape the course of his/her life.
Contrast this with what the fundamentalist does. The fundamentalist puts the blame for all
evils on others and goes on to impose his narrow truths on others. The fundamentalist is one of the least
autonomous individuals.
Sixth:
A felt quality of life: A person who
lives a good life (in Grayling’s sense) feels the richness of his/her
life. Obviously this richness is
absolutely different from the riches that most people run after.
Seventh:
Integrity: This is a feeling of inner wholeness or
completeness. The individual good
consists in harmony between the different elements of the soul, said
Plato. That harmony is what is meant by
integrity.
Grayling
presents this system in the beginning of the second part of his book. The first part is a criticism of religion and
theism. The second part proposes
humanism as a viable alternative to religion.
Humanism is based on the simple assertion that human beings are rational
enough to understand themselves and their positions in the world and hence make
responsible and meaningful choices which in turn will make life much more
beautiful and meaningful than any religion or belief in god(s) can.
When
religions have done so much harm in the world, it is a good idea to think of an
alternative.
The
two earlier posts inspired by Grayling:
well its human to rely upon rules , be dependent, be guided , follow as herd .. and hence religion has no alternate big enough as of now ! But sometime soon the pot of religious ill would crack breaking the concept of religion once and for all and for good, i feel.
ReplyDeleteGrayling says that one reason why religion is popular is sheer laziness of people. People are too lazy to think for themselves and accept the answers given by an authority like religion. What better authority is there than God?
DeleteThe concept from where I see is quite well solved from the blogging I induglge in. The ranging from having a goal (become a writer) til opening myself up for criticism. From where I see writing is my way of living life and a blog or perhaps a novel in distant future my tool. In words of grayling if science is to religion then for me religion is to writing. And if technology is to ritual then for me that ritual is to blog, get published and also read others. :) my own creation of understanding :P
ReplyDeleteIf writing is your goal, much of the problem is already solved, Richa. You are a fortunate person. And best wishes.
DeleteInteresting read Tomichan Sir!
ReplyDeleteI feel good relationship is very important characteristic of good life. Many other things fall in place once this is proper.
In fact, Indrani, all these 7 characteristics are inter-related. Good relationships come naturally to people who possess the other characteristics.
DeleteYes very nice read, these characteristics are very important.
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ReplyDeleteThe infirmities that are inherent in individuals and the very inequality that exists with them from the beginning is not laziness. I find the whole message a sort of utopian idealism, though there is a slight hope that anything can be straightened if u take U turn.But it goes against the basic premise that until you have the correct proposition you won't be arriving at the truth
ReplyDeleteBenny, it appears you took much pain to post the comment. Thanks for the perseverance. Or should I say congrats? :)
DeleteSince you find Grayling's vision utopian idealism, let me quote the author himself: "It is said ... that all good things began as dreams or ideals."
But I'm curious about the view you expressed on "basic premise". Are you questioning the basic premise of the professor that all human beings are rational?
I doubt even the notion that all humans are rational.Even if there is a universal rationale with the humans, its variations are so extreme that some fall far beyond the humans.
DeleteIt looks like you will soon be following Descartes! :)
DeleteI feel that all the seven characteristics have a significant role to play for one to feel life and feel the completeness and richness (richness in the sense of feeling not materialistic) ! thank you Sir for briefing those points and sharing it as a post ! the points are so well described ...
ReplyDeleteEvery writer tries to share in what s/he thinks is the best way. I'm intrigued by the number 7 used by many of them. Maslow, brilliant psychologist, presented 7 hierarchies of fulfilment. Deepak Chopra has written an endless number of books with that number. And here is another 7...
DeleteThank you for telling me that my posts mean something to you.
"express one’s ideas and invite others to test them and criticise them." - Well, that is meaningful enough for me :)
ReplyDeleteRE
Hindsight tells me why it is meaningful to you, Raghuram. I remember your last email to me.
DeleteThis definitely is interesting read with many meaningful characterization.
ReplyDeleteCharacteristics, Rajesh, yes, the book can mean a lot provided we are ready to get rid of some of our past...
DeleteMaybe I don't have maturity to understand these things but for me, the fourth point - the authenticity or emotional honesty - is the most important thing. I personally believe that unless you have an emotional honesty, you don't even have the capacity to set meaningful goal for your life. But then, to each its own. Good point of view though.
ReplyDeleteActually, Pankti, these characteristics are not watertight compartments. They are all interrelated. A former student of mine, a brilliant one, commented on FB that only the first characteristic really matters, the rest are appendices... These are mere guidelines to make our life richer, not rules.
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