Happiness and the Good Life Midterm

What are the three R’s that should guide involvement with Indigenous research?

Respect, reciprocity, and relationality

What does the term wholistic with a W mean, and how is it different from holisitic with an H?

Wholistic with a W means that you can’t isolate people from their experiences; a human being is a whole inside a greater whole. The individual is connected to everything else in a way that permeates through the whole being, mentally, spiritually, and physically; there is a connection with one’s family and extended family, one’s people, and the cosmos in a sacred relationship. In the Indigenous version of wholistic, everything has a shared origin and basis; I can't consider my own body to be separate from everything else because I am impacting other people. We are situated in layers, connecting us with all of the different dimensions that are not separable from each other. You are responsible for oneself, for one’s participation in the community, for learning traditional teachings; by belonging in this whole, you contribute to all the different layers. Living a good life means contributing to all of these dimensions, and understanding yourself as being influenced and part of them; belonging to the society is part of who you are.

It’s different from holistic with an H, where the term “related” means that everything is interconnected by sharing an environment, where action leads to a domino effect.

What is decolonization, in the Indigenous view?

Defining decolonization in a positive sense; not dismantling or undoing, but seeking cultural, psychological, educational, and economic freedom for Indigenous peoples, aiming at achieving Indigenous self-determination over land, cultures, and political and economic systems. It doesn’t seek to recreate a golden time or a special age where things will be untouched, but to forge a new future. It involves creating space, ceding decisions to Indigenous people, allowing them to have control over their own lives and making space for them to create Indigenous futures, with traditional knowledge.

What is the first thing someone should do when beginning research or learning in an Indigenous approach?

Locate oneself - consider important moments that have happened in your life and educational journey.

What is the good life according to Debassige?

We should apply what we learn, and we’re always learning. We have a role to play in sustaining traditional and cultural practices for future generations. There’s an intergenerational connection and mutual responsibility - younger and older generations must work together. Time and consistent relations with elders are necessary for young Indigenous students.

What challenges are there in pursuing knowledge in a Spirit-centred way in a Western context?

Terms may mean different things in different contexts - research, ceremony, good, life, etc., can all have different meanings between an Indigenous context and a Western one.

Objects also have a different significance, and cannot be used without the appropriate knowledge of teachings and experience; for example, the presentation of tobacco to elders in some Indigenous cultures is important, but not considered permissible in research.

What are some common themes in the translations of bimaadiziwin?

Worthwhile life; long, fulfilling life; our walk in life; life in the fullest sense; a spiritual endeavour that involves seeking the aid of superhuman entities; walking the straight/correct path in life; life as health, longevity, and well-being for oneself and one’s family; living respectfully.

What is mino-bimaadiziwin?

A special way of seeing the world; a transcendent concept that should be activated and lived; more than a unifying concept of the Anishinaabe way of life. Places Anishinaabe ways of knowing at the center of the research process and anything they choose to do in life. Largely participatory. Contains the past, present, and future, including Indigenous resarch. It’s not just an academic/intellectualizing process but a way of life.

True or false: mino-bimaadiziwin is a concept that describes the different, isolated values of the Anishinaabeg.

False; the values are interconnected, not isolated.

True or false: Mino-bimaadiziwin is just an abstract, umbrella term for the disparate cultural practices of the Anishinaabeg.

False - same reason as before, not a label for different practices but a whole way of life.

True or false: mino-bimaadiziwin is participatory and must be lived.

True

True or false: For a young Anishinaabe person to truly live out mino-bimaadiziwin, they must spend time with elders and learn traditional teachings.

True

True or false: Mino-bimaadiziwin is a lifestyle that, as a modern practitioner, you can responsibly engage in sometimes but then choose to ignore other times.

False - can’t decide that sometimes you’ll live your life in this way and other times you won’t; mino-bimaadiziwin requires living it through your life, at all times.

What are three characteristics of mino-bimaadiziwin?

1) A spiritual endeavour; not just about knowing things or doing certain prescribed activities.

2) Living ethically and wholistically by fostering relationships between oneself and the whole of creation.

3) Requires active, consistent participation. Need to come to it with goodwill, accept that the special way of seeing the world in mino-bimaadiziwin exists and is valid, without trivializing or downplaying any elements of it.

What is biskabiiyang?

An Anishinaabe concept for returning to the teachings of the past. It relates to the positive definition of decolonization, because returning to traditional teachings has to involve dismantling some of the emotional and psychological baggage carried from colonization. It can involve Indigenous people processing what they’ve been taught of as objective/subjective, of what is known to be true vs. not taken seriously. It involves critical self-examination, and it has to be lived; it’s an active endeavour. Seeking, learning, doing, and living are all necessary and connected. It starts the journey of living mino-bimaadiziwin.

What are the seven principles of mino-bimaadiziwin?

1) Original way of speaking, allowing Anishinaabe to process and express thoughts in their traditional language, which shapes how they view, process, and experience the world.

2) Anishinaabe behaviour, values, and way of life.

3) Anishinaabe way of thinking, perceiving, and formulating thoughts, which come out of Anishinaabe beliefs and foundational truths, from different understandings and foundational principles.

4) Anishinaabe knowledge and way of knowing - what one knows, but also how one comes to know it.

5) Anishinaabe way of doing things; involves different values, which take shape through practice and action.

6) Anishinaabe way of relating to the Spirit, to each other, and to Creation. The good life cannot be separated from this; there’s no mino-bimaadiziwin without spirituality and relationships with each other.

7) Connection and relationship to the land and all of creation. Relationality is integral to living well; the land is more than a property, resource, or backdrop.

What is Socrates’ concept of the good life?

He views the good life as the intellectual pursuit of the truth in discussion/conversation with others, and the self-examination and growth that comes with genuinely and honestly engaging in this dialogue.

What were the two official charges against Socrates?

Corrupting the youth and impiety.

Why did Socrates choose to start questioning wisdom?

His friend received a prophecy from the Oracle at Delphi, asking if there exists a person wiser than Socrates; the Oracle (Pythia) said no, and so he set out to question the men in different groups who were believed to be wise, in order to prove the Oracle wrong.

What god does the Oracle represent?

Apollo

What is the method of dialogue that Socrates uses?

He asks a series of challenging questions when someone asserts that something is true, in order to determine whether it’s actually the truth, building off each answer and interrogating each part of it. This is known as elenchus.

What is wisdom, for Socrates?

Wisdom is knowing that you don’t and can’t know everything, being in a position of humility - this is human wisdom. There is also a more-than-human wisdom, which involves truly knowing everything.

What are Socrates’ three arguments against the two charges?

1) Argument based on knowledge and the nature of teaching: It is absurd to claim that all who influence the youth except Socrates have a positive influence. Positive influence requires at least some knowledge/training/expertise on the part of the mentor - offers the horse trainer example, you have to have knowledge and only a select number of people have the ability to train them well. It’s not a logical claim that only Socrates corrupts the youth.

2) Argument from lack of motivation to harm oneself: if you make the people around you evil, you will be in danger of receiving evil from them. It is illogical to corrupt your associates intentionally, because you have to live with them and would thus harm yourself. Therefore, if Socrates is corrupting the youth, it’s unintentional, and so he should be taught how to do better.

3) Argument from inconsistency regarding the knowledge and belief in the gods: To teach the youth about demons and false gods, Socrates must believe in the gods, and so he cannot be charged as impious and an atheist.

What does Socrates say about the proposed punishments for his charges?

Imprisonment: doesn’t want to be imprisoned because he would be a slave to those in power, unable to practice philosophy, which does not make for a good life, and would be worse than death.

Exile: says he would just wander around, go to a new town, do the same thing, become hated again and then thrown out of whatever place he would go to.

Financial penalty: says it should be a small fee that he can conceivably afford.

How does Socrates defend himself?

1) Says he never charged for his teaching

2) Says he never refused to converse with anyone, young or old

3) Says he engages in questioning with everyone in public, rich or poor

4) Exposes the ignorance of those who think they’re wise, but aren’t

5) Says he respects individual autonomy, especially of young people. He says he takes everyone seriously, and that the youth don’t need to be protected or brainwashed; he treats the youth as equal interlocutors who can think for himself. This connects to his defence of corrupting the youth, because if his influence on the youth is so terrible, why have they not risen up against him?

6) Refuses to beg for compassion - says it would be shameful and bring disgrace upon the city of Athens; he says Athenians excel in virtue and it wouldn’t be virtuous to not convict him on compassionate grounds.

Why does Socrates think we shouldn’t fear death?

He says that death is a blessing. It's either annihilation, in which case death is a final, full sleep, which we would look forward to; or it’s transmigration, where the soul moves to the afterlife, which would be desirable because we can meet great figures who we can question about wisdom. He also thinks that fearing death is pretending to know the unknowable, which we should not do. Finally, he says he doesn’t fear his own death because the risk of death shouldn’t stop you from pursuing the good life; it is more important to pursue truth, justice, and honour than it is to stay alive.

What is the good life, for Aristotle?

The quest to be happy through the exercise of reason (finding the golden mean and cultivating virtues), and through developing friendships.

What is Aristotle’s term for happiness?

Eudaimonia.

What is Aristotle’s view of the good?

He says that we aim at the good - the good is the telos of all human activity. There are two different types of ends - highest ends, which are ends in themselves, and subordinate ends, which are means to these ends in themselves. The ultimate end in itself is the chief good. To find this, he seeks a general account of happiness that can guide our actions, rather than the exact rules for every situation.

Why is eudaimonia the highest good?

It is the only end that is enough in itself (self-sufficient). Everything else is a means to happiness, even the highest things like intelligence and virtue. Happiness is a way of life - how we act and live in a way that we flourish, and virtue facilitates it. Happiness is never done; we have to keep practicing it and thinking about virtue in motion. Eudaimonia involves being in the world with others, opening yourself up to vulnerability, helping other people, and accepting that your actions impact others; you cannot flourish if all you care about is being selfish and having what you want.

What is virtue, for Aristotle?

Virtue involves activity - it is a state or disposition that involves action. We cannot be virtuous if we are inactive, doing nothing, and we become more virtuous through practice and developing habits. We cannot be hateful or mean, even when faced with misfortune or injustice; we need to make the best of our circumstances. Excellence of character is virtue, which allows us to live well. “Virtue is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason.” Two of the most important virtues are courage (the golden mean between rashness and cowardice) and temperance (the golden mean between self-indulgence and insensibility).