The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
~Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1934
Most people know of Albert Einstein as a physicist who developed the theory of relativity. Most people do not know that he also spoke and wrote philosophical ideas on a wide variety of topics, including thought and language, faith and reason, the theory of knowledge, and morality.
The first essay in his book The World as I See It (starting on page 5) is a wonderful quick read of a few of his thoughts about human life. In it he mentions the three ideals of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty that guided him through life.
In the Philosophy for LYF, Goodness is the single, all-encompassing, foundational core value that infuses your life's actions with outcomes that are truly valuable and elevating. It is the necessary ingredient for any other value or action to have merit and to experience an elevated life.
In fact, with apologies to Einstein, Goodness is a requisite for achieving the elevating qualities of Truth and Beauty. It is Goodness that allows Truth and Beauty to reach their ideals and prevents their perversion from those that perceive "truthiness" as truth and brutality as beauty.
Consider Goodness as the constant in your unified theory of life! Make it your fundamental core value in every action you do!
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