What constitutes a good life and how does one’s life contribute to the common good? I cannot think of many other questions that keep universities in business. And in a Jesuit heritage institution like Georgetown, this question has even more meaning because of the open inquiry about the religious dimensions of the potential answers.
But the question of the good life is not just a religious concern. In fact, the history of philosophy expresses various answers to this investigation, with some thinkers religiously motivated and others who are not. The systematic consideration of the question of the good life and how one’s own individual pursuit of it factors into a more common or collective good should energize us at the University, regardless of where we sit and what we do on campus.
It is with this universal resonance in mind that the annual SCS overnight student retreat from March 9–10 will be organized.
What is especially exciting about this framing is the considerable increase in literature, both popular and more academic, about the philosophy of the good life. Two recent examples of this trend are philosopher and power pull-ups record-holder Adam Sandel’s book, Happiness in Action: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Good Life, and Meghan Sullivan’s book, The Good Life Method: Reasoning Through the Big Questions of Happiness, Faith, and Meaning. Sullivan, who is a popular philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame, participated on a panel at SCS (reflected upon by Mission in Motion) convened by Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. A simple internet search of this very question manifests the many paths to considering the good life, which touches upon psychology, philosophy, and medicine among many other topical areas.
What makes the SCS annual retreat especially important this year is the way that the good life is being compromised and threatened by increasing social polarization, economic inequity, and global conflicts. The threat of harm looms in communities most vulnerable to violence and disintegration. And institutional leaders across the realms of politics, culture, and sports do not seem up to the task of inviting the society to more noble aspirations for realizing a good life together. The SCS student body, already directly impacting society, marketplace, military, and many other domains of life, is in such an important position to positively influence the shape of our collective life. Realization of the common good depends in large part on how we all work together to create conditions for individual and shared flourishing.
The 24-hour retreat will take place at Georgetown’s idyllic Calcagnini Contemplative Center in Bluemont, Va. As in past years, the experience includes both individual and group activities, time for quiet rest and relaxation, and fellowship over food. This natural setting is a welcome home-away-from-home. SCS students with questions should reach out to me at pjk34@georgetown.edu. RSVP deadline is March 1, 2024. Sign up today!