Friday, January 2, 2009

My Opinion of a good and meaningful life

My definition of a good and meaningful life is simple and should answer many questions.  My criteria for a good and meaningful life is that the person is happy, doesn't hurt anyone and leaves behind a legacy for others to remember.  A good life is one where the person is happy and they don't hurt anyone else, this answers the question of "if a serial killer enjoys his work is his life good?" the answer would be no because he's hurting people, it's not necessary to hurt others to live a good life and there are many examples of peaceful people who live good lives.
To have a meaningful life the person has to leave a mark on the world, meaning is what makes people notice your life, if your life is meaningful, and by extension more meaningful than other people's, then you should be noticed more than other people.  If a person was kept away from society and was happy and didn't hurt anyone, his life would be good, but because he didn't leave any mark on the world his life wouldn't be meaningful.  My definition is simple enough to include many different life styles, but has enough criteria to rule out questionable and harmful life styles.  

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