Human Nature & The Meaning of Life ("The Good Life")

We all want to live the good life. But what does this mean? Are money, fame, and success the keys to the good life? What about family, community, service, education, and spirituality? How will you know when you have “made it”?

This course offers a space for thinking about the most central of questions: What is the good life? And how do we get it? We will examine answers that have been given by philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions around the world. We will also consider what the psychological and neurosciences have to say about flourishing and well-being. In tandem with these explorations, we’ll reflect on and challenge our own assumptions about the good life. What do our cultures, societies, and families tell us to want in life? How do we reconcile conflicting visions of the good life? We’ll use techniques such as storytelling and counter-storytelling to develop a continuous practice of thinking through questions about the good life. We’ll put our learning about the good life into action through service-learning opportunities and community-building activities.

This course will be team-taught by experts in a wide variety of fields, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, and ethnic studies. As a first-year experience course, it invites students to find purpose and meaning in their educational journeys. As a service-learning course, it welcomes them into the community at SJSU and in the City of San José. It also includes exciting opportunities to hear from outside speakers and to go on field trips.