... form of Plato's is actually God, the ultimate form of goodness period. If you love God and do what you will, you will do good. Plato's student Aristotle tries to bring the forms down to earth a bit. Aristotle holds that people need to try to perform their natural functions. Man's natural function is to reason. A person who reasons and holds the universal good habits of balance and moderation will have a good life. As Augustine did with Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas reconciles Aristotle's natural function theory with God. Aquinas looks to take what he feels are the basic natural human functions of faith, love and hope and make them be the natural functions of humans as instrumental means to an intrinsically good end. A somewhat more simplified version of how to lead a positive existence comes from the Epicureans. Epicurus spoke of a simple life led trying to ...

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