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Creating the Good Life: Aristo...
Creating the Good Life: Aristotle's Guide to Getting It Right
by Robert Morris
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Creating the Good Life: Aristotle's Guide to Getting It Right
James O¹Toole
Rodale Books
Perhaps you¹re now asking the same question I did before reading this book: ³Given the fact that he lived almost 2,400 years ago, what could Aristotle possibly have to say that is directly relevant to me?² In fact, a great deal. So many of us today -- especially those at mid-life -- are engaged in a search to find meaning and happiness. We often ask, as Peggy Lee once did, ³Is that all there is?² The purpose of this book is show how Aristotle is an effective guide on that search, and how he can help each of us find our own practical answer to a critically important question, "What's next?" In an interview to appear in the July/August (2005) issue of Chamber Executive magazine, O¹Toole observes that "Aristotle was the most practical of all great philosophers. His audience was the business and political leadership of his day. He offered them wisdom they could apply in their own lives -- practical advice on matters ranging from ethical business practices to effective philanthropy. Aristotle even describes virtuous Œnon-retirement-- the lifelong commitment to engage in Œleisure work¹ which is characterized by pursuit of the Œhighest good¹ of individual excellence and the Œcomplete good¹ of community service. He offers practical tests to help us determine how much wealth we need to support us while we engage in those activities. As O¹Toole explains in this book, Aristotle struggled with many of the same difficult circumstances (more than two centuries ago) which most of us face in 2005: ³...in his career as a teacher and a consultant to leaders of ancient Athens, Aristotle thought long and hard about what it means to live a good life and how much it takes to finance it. His thoughts on this matter are particularly applicable today, given the baby boom generation¹s anxiety over insufficient retirement savings and shaky investments: Aristotle shows how we can find happiness at almost any level of income. Moreover, he argues that the ability to find true contentment correlates only tangentially with the amount of money one has cached away. Unlike so many of today¹s Œlife advisors,¹ Aristotle integrates financial planning with the broader task of life planning.² For those now struggling to define and then create the good life for themselves, whatever their current circumstances may be, Aristotle¹s wisdom can indeed serve as a ³compass.² In this volume, O¹Toole prepares his reader to use it effectively.
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