What does it mean to live a good life? How to go about it? What kind of people should we be? Many philosophers, theologians and laypeople have reflected on the subject and drawn their own conclusions. Is there only one correct answer? Is there a right answer? Maybe there is a solution that fits each of us, or maybe we each need to chart our own path to a better life. Of the many people who have written on this topic, let's look at the philosophies of three people: Aristotle, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Bertrand Russell. Perhaps we can discover common ground between the theories of these three philosophers. More than two thousand three hundred years ago lived a man named Aristotle (384-322 BC). He lived in largely polytheistic Greece as a teacher, writer and orator who eventually founded the Lyceum. (Veatch, 1974) Christianity would not gain a foothold for many years to come. A student of Plato, and also one of the most famous and respected philosophers, Aristotle did not have many options if he had wanted to stand on the shoulders of giants. (Hunt, 1993) What relevance can be found in someone's beliefs from over two thousand three hundred years ago? The answer is surprisingly big. So many great intellectuals and philosophers have stood on Aristotle's shoulders that his belief system can lead to a feeling of déjà vu. What did he think about living a good life or pursuing happiness? The Greeks had another word for happiness; to be honest, they had another word for everything. The word is eudaimonia, which does not translate directly to happiness, but rather to the concept of "flourishing" or "prosperity." The way to achieve this eudaimonia, he believed, was to embody excellence...... middle of paper ...... ch, and discover what makes us and others happy, outside of ourselves, thus connecting us to the universal. flow of life? Or should we practice “virtual averaging” to achieve eudaimonia? It's up to you. Because each person must decide their own path on this Earth. Luckily for all of us, we don't have to do it alone. Works Cited Emerson, RW and Ed. Porte, J. (1983). Emerson, Ralph Waldo: Essays and Lectures. New York: Library of America. Guignon, C. (1999). The good life. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis. New York: Basic Books. Hunt, M. (1993). The history of psychology. New York: Anchor Books. Slater, J. (1994). Bertrand Russell. Bristol: Thoemmes Press. Veatch, H. B. (1974). Aristotle: a contemporary appreciation. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press.