The Good Life: Religion, Philosophy, and Life’s Ultimate Concerns

What does it look like for a human life to go well? What leads to human flourishing or “happiness” or “success”? What is freedom? Love? Justice? What is the basis for ethics? What is our relationship to the environment and natural world? What is the significance of death? How do our beliefs (or lack thereof) about God or the gods shape our answers to life's big questions? We examine how philosophical or religious traditions around the globe have answered these questions, beginning with their founders. Traditions (and founders/key figures) covered include Confucianism (Confucius); Islam (Muhammad); Christianity (Jesus); Stoicism (Socrates), Judaism (Moses), and Buddhism (the Buddha).