The Good Life Is Not an Algorithm

​What a Notre Dame Philosopher Has Learned About Living Well

​A Conversation with Meghan Sullivan
Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
October 20, 2026 | Tillage, San Francisco

​We live in a world increasingly devoted to optimization. We measure our productivity, track our health, curate our relationships, and look to technology to help us make better decisions. But can the good life really be engineered?

​For years, Notre Dame philosopher Meghan Sullivan has invited students to wrestle with some of life's oldest and most important questions through her course, God and the Good Life. What makes a life worth living? What should we love? What do we owe one another? And what, if anything, does God have to do with living well?

​Join us for an evening of conversation as Meghan shares what she's learned from teaching these questions to a generation coming of age in an increasingly technological world.

​Because the good life isn't simply something to optimize. It's something we have to learn to live.

​About the Speaker: Meghan Sullivan is a philosopher at the University of Notre Dame and the creator of "God and the Good Life," one of Notre Dame's most popular courses of all time. Drawing on 10 years of teaching university students about what makes a good life, she'll explore the big questions of happiness, faith, and meaning. She's also the author of a book on the subject, The Good Life Method. For a preview of her thinking, check out her recent appearance on David Brooks's new podcast, The Permanent Questions: https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/what-is-the-good-life/688591/&source=gmail&ust=1790092603875000&sa=E

This event is part of the Festival of Thought happening across the Bay Area.