At the same time, that one is unhappy seems to be a conclusive reason for
saying that one does not have a good life. When people are depressed, we
sometimes try to convince them that they have reasons to be happy. And they may
have such reasons, but if they are nevertheless unhappy, then clearly something
important, something essential to having a good life, is missing. Einstein had
good reasons to be happy. But if, despite this, he was miserable, he did not have a
good life.
Thus, a complex and somewhat confusing picture takes shape concerning the
relationship between happiness and the good life. Clearly, happiness (as a
psychological state) is a good thing (just as depression is a bad thing), but one
might well question whether it is the only important thing, or the most important
thing, in life.
First, it can be argued that happiness is one component of a good life, but not
the only one. It seems reasonable to suppose that knowledge, virtue, and caring
relationships, for example, are also components of a good life. Happiness might
occur as the result of “flourishing” as a person, or it might be unrelated to
personal growth. Yet, we would not want to say that a slothful, bleak, or
impoverished life is a good life so long as one is content with one’s lot. Consider
someone—call him Fred—who never leaves his home and has no contact with
other people or with the outside world. Fred has a deck of cards and plays solitaire
all day long. Clearly, Fred has a bleak existence, and yet he might nevertheless be