ISBN 0-06-000075-9
He begins with an exploration of Aristotle’s understanding of the good life. Then, Gomes explores the ways in which Christian tradition, as represented by Augustine and Aquinas, has transformed this classical understanding of virtue and the pursuit of a meaningful life. He draws upon his extensive experience as minister of Memorial Church and professor of Christian Morals at Harvard, and his association with many of the great figures of our time.
By his examination of commencement addresses and public lectures throughout Harvard’s 350-year history, Gomes gives us an anecdotal history of the changing conception of the purpose of higher education in North America. The book is full of interesting people, the best of American public rhetoric, personal experience and numerous quotable quotes.
Gomes shatters the illusion that education in itself is enough to make one virtuous. He notes the way in which higher education “in the last decades of the 20th century has seemed to go out of its way to avoid any kind of moral claims upon the minds, hearts and lives of its young constituents” (p. 18). Gomes contends that learning how to make a good living and learning how to lead a good life are not the same thing.
He believes that the present generation of university students is not satisfied with simply knowing more about a particular field of learning in order to achieve professional success. This generation demonstrates a profound curiosity to understand the moral dimension of life in order to be able to live a good life.
Gomes draws from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to develop an ethics of character. A good life flows from a good character. The Christian tradition defines the good life in terms of life before God. The way to develop character is by practicing the classical virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, and the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. Both failure and success have much to teach us about how to live a good life.
One of Gomes’ most interesting discussions is on the value of failure as a moral teacher. In our relentless pursuit of success, Gomes claims that we as Americans have traded the “fantastic truth” of the gospel for the “plausible lie” of our cultural illusions. Discipline and freedom are essential tools for constructing a good life.
In the last section of the book, Gomes uses contemporary language, current situations and concrete illustrations to present the seven classical and theological virtues. His aim is to demonstrate that the virtues are important resources for the larger community in our common search for the good life. He gives greatest attention to the theological virtues. He defines faith as “not what we believe, but what we do” (p. 265); hope is that which “hallows the future and moves us from here to there” (p. 285); and love is friendship and forgiveness “with the lights on” (p. 324).
Gomes’ lively, informed and accessible book is a tremendous aid for teachers, preachers and anyone interested in exploring what it means to live “the good life.”
