What SpongeBob Understands About Life (That You Don’t)

0:01 By today’s standards, SpongeBob SquarePants isn’t exactly a success.

0:06 He lives alone in a pineapple.

0:09 He works at a fast-food restaurant.

0:11 He has no impressive résumé,

0:12 no status, no ambition to climb.

0:15 And most people around him see him as a fool, which, by the way,

0:20 doesn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

0:23 SpongeBob lives in a curious little town named

0:26 Bikini Bottom.

0:27 At first sight, it seems like an idyllic tropical paradise,

0:30 but when we look more

0:32 closely, it’s actually a pretty imperfect place full of broken people.

0:37 And it’s not very safe

0:39 either, considering the natural disasters it faces,

0:42 like volcanoes and earthquakes,

0:44 as well as many external threats, like the Alaskan Bullworm or King Neptune,

0:49 which led to the town’s destruction.

0:52 Also, Bikini Bottom’s inhabitants seem to be in

0:55 constant struggle with themselves and each other.

0:58 We see this constant danger of a megalomaniac

1:01 trying to seize power,

1:03 a greedy businessman trying to enrich himself in any way he can,

1:07 and a cynical,

1:08 failed artist who mainly isolates himself, yearning for recognition.

1:12 Add to this the mass hysteria that often sets in the little town,

1:17 usually over trivial matters, and

1:19 we see that Bikini Bottom is a volatile place.

1:23 But the constant adversity and the irrational

1:26 (sometimes downright malicious) people around him

1:28 rarely seem to bring SpongeBob down.

1:31 On the contrary,

1:32 SpongeBob seems to be the happiest character in the entire show,

1:36 even when things around him fall apart.

1:39 He seems an absurd character, sure, a fool who

1:43 makes us laugh.

1:44 But could it be that, behind the ridiculousness, lies a secret to living well?

1:51 I recently came across an essay by Nicole R.

1:54 Pramik, an author and former lecturer,

1:56 who suggests that SpongeBob may resemble what Aristotle

2:00 considered a happy, flourishing person.

2:03 Intrigued by the idea, I examined Pramik’s essay,

2:07 the Aristotelian ideas about what a happy life means,

2:10 and revisited SpongeBob SquarePants as a

2:13 show to see what SpongeBob and his

2:16 environment can teach us about true happiness.

2:19 My name is Stefan.

2:20 This is not an AI voice, I’m a real person.

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2:30 Thank you.

2:31 And I hope you’ll enjoy this video.

2:40 In our lives,

2:41 we’re being fed the idea that happiness comes through external factors,

2:46 such as achievement or material possessions.

2:48 We believe that if we finally have the success

2:52 we’re fantasizing about, or the house, or the car,

2:56 or the kid, that we’ll be happy.

2:59 And we assume we can only truly enjoy work when

3:02 we land our ‘dream job’ that provides ample meaning,

3:05 and we dread the idea of working as a

3:09 dishwasher at McDonald’s or mopping the floors at Walmart.

3:12 We seem to believe that happiness comes

3:15 from acquiring a specific external source.

3:18 Hence, we see people pursue constant achievements,

3:21 money and expensive things, or fame and status

3:24 (or relevance, as it’s called in today’s social media age).

3:28 Happiness becomes something that

3:30 lies somewhere in the future, just beyond the next achievement or acquisition.

3:39 The pursuit of happiness through external

3:41 outcomes or conditions is clearly visible

3:43 in the world of SpongeBob SquarePants.

3:46 Consider a few prominent examples: Mr.

3:49 Krabs, the owner of the fast-food restaurant,

3:52 The Krusty Krab, who treats wealth as the ultimate good.

3:56 Or Squidward, who seeks happiness through recognition as a great artist.

4:01 Or Plankton, longing for power

4:03 and success.

4:04 All of them constantly strive for happiness through these pursuits,

4:09 yet never really seem to arrive there.

4:12 But then, there’s SpongeBob.

4:14 A fool, in many people’s eyes,

4:17 as he seems to be happy without pursuing any of the things others do.

4:21 He’s not interested in wealth, fame, or power.

4:25 Yet he’s always just…so happy.

4:28 And this may seem weird to people.

4:30 How can you find so much enjoyment in a life that’s so…ordinary, without

4:36 much of the stuff society tells us to pursue to be complete and happy people?

4:42 What’s his secret?

4:43 Here’s where ancient Greek philosophy comes in.

4:46 In her essay, Pramik makes an interesting

4:49 observation.

4:49 She recognizes in SpongeBob ideas about happiness that were already described

4:55 more than two thousand years ago by one of antiquity’s greatest philosophers:

5:01 Aristotle.

5:01 Let’s take a look at what happiness entails according to Aristotle,

5:05 and how SpongeBob seems to embody it.

5:09 If happiness is not equal to wealth or

5:13 recognition or power or anything like that, what is it then?

5:18 To find an answer to this question,

5:20 let’s go back to Ancient Greece.

5:23 More than two thousand years ago, Aristotle asked a

5:26 simple but radical question: What does it mean to live well?

5:30 He came up with a very different

5:33 answer than the one we’re used to.

5:35 When Aristotle walked around Athens,

5:37 he saw his contemporaries pursuing different goals in life.

5:41 In his work, the Nicomachean Ethics,

5:43 he describes how the masses pursue lives of pleasure, aiming for nothing higher

5:49 than enjoyment.

5:49 Aristotle wasn’t fond of such pursuits of pleasure, comparing them to the life

5:55 of “brute beasts” and calling them “slavish.” Others,

5:58 he observed, pursue honor and money.

6:01 But the problem with honor is that it depends heavily on

6:04 what other people think of you and can be taken

6:07 away in a heartbeat.

6:08 And the problem with money is that it isn’t really an end in itself; it’s

6:13 always pursued for the sake of something else.

6:17 According to Aristotle, such things cannot be

6:19 life’s highest goal.

6:21 The highest goal must be something desirable for its own sake;

6:26 something we pursue not as a means, but as an end.

6:30 And for Aristotle, all our efforts,

6:32 whether making money like Mr.

6:34 Krabs, striving for recognition like Squidward,

6:37 or seeking power like Plankton,

6:40 ultimately point toward that one thing: happiness.

6:44 As he wrote: Thus it seems that happiness is something final and self-sufficing,

6:50 and is the end of all that man does.

6:53 For Aristotle, happiness is the goal in life.

6:56 We should be more precise here,

6:59 though, because he actually talks about ‘eudaimonia’.

7:02 Eudaimonia is often translated as “flourishing,” meaning it

7:05 is more than a passing emotion or feeling,

7:08 even though happiness and joy are certainly part of it,

7:12 more or less as byproducts.

7:14 So, how do we reach eudaimonia?

7:16 The answer lies not in what we achieve,

7:19 but in how we live day to day.

7:23 Eudaimonia arises when we live well,

7:25 when we live virtuously.

7:27 And here’s where our hero, SpongeBob, comes in.

7:30 For most of his life,

7:32 SpongeBob flourishes.

7:33 He isn’t always cheerful; he isn’t perfect, and he isn’t an angel, as Pramik

7:40 points out in her essay.

7:42 But, and I quote: When SpongeBob wakes up each morning and

7:46 greets the day,

7:47 he does so with a smile simply because he is living a moral, happy life.

7:53 End quote.

7:54 According to Pramik, SpongeBob is living pretty well in an Aristotelian sense.

7:59 But that raises two important questions:

8:02 what does living a virtuous life actually mean?

8:06 And how does SpongeBob embody it?

8:11 In Nicomachean Ethics,

8:13 Aristotle distinguishes a series of character traits, such as honesty,

8:18 generosity, and anger.

8:19 Pramik’s essay examines these traits and connects them

8:23 to real examples from the series.

8:25 I’d like to do something similar here, using some of

8:29 Pramik’s examples as well as examples I found myself,

8:32 to strengthen the idea of SpongeBob

8:35 as an Aristotelian example (however imperfect) of a happy,

8:42 virtuous, flourishing… sponge.

8:44 Central to Aristotle’s ethics is the “Golden Mean,” the idea that virtue lies

8:50 between two extremes: excess and deficiency.

8:53 So, for every virtue, there’s a corresponding

8:57 excess or deficiency.

8:59 For example, the deficiency of the virtue ‘courage’ is ‘cowardice’,

9:04 but its excess is ‘recklessness.’ So,

9:07 Aristotle encourages us to avoid cowardice and recklessness

9:11 and to aim for the golden middle way: courage.

9:15 Now, what about SpongeBob?

9:17 Despite his absurdness and even though he

9:21 can be highly expressive and occasionally overenthusiastic,

9:24 does he, by and large, follow the Golden Mean?

9:28 Most of the time, he does, according to

9:31 Pramik, and I’ll share one of her examples that illustrates this.

9:37 Sandy Cheeks, the tough,

9:38 tomboyish Texan squirrel in an astronaut suit, doesn’t shy away from

9:43 adventure.

9:43 In the episode “Pre-Hibernation Week” (S2:E7), Sandy recruits SpongeBob to

9:48 participate in a series of extreme challenges,

9:50 such as finding a piece of hay in a needlestack

9:54 and riding a bike in a toxic industrial park.

9:59 Eventually, SpongeBob becomes disillusioned

10:01 with Sandy’s recklessness and calls it quits,

10:05 thus avoiding the extreme side of courage.

10:08 But SpongeBob isn’t a coward either.

10:11 He repeatedly shows courage in situations

10:13 that matter to him.

10:15 One of the best examples comes from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,

10:19 when Plankton steals King Neptune’s crown and frames his rival, Mr.

10:23 Krabs, for the theft, which,

10:25 of course, evokes the wrath of Neptune.

10:28 SpongeBob then courageously sets out for Shell City to

10:32 retrieve the crown and save Mr.

10:35 Krabs’s life.

10:36 We can find more examples of SpongeBob following

10:39 the Golden Mean.

10:40 Another one is from an episode that stuck with me personally, and that I believe

10:45 is an interesting case of SpongeBob being virtuous,

10:48 but also going off the rails.

10:51 I’m talking about the episode “Can you spare

10:53 a dime?” (S3:E7) in which Squidward quits his

10:56 job due to an argument with his boss, Mr.

10:59 Krabs, who accuses him of stealing his cherished first

11:02 dime.

11:03 When SpongeBob discovers that Squidward has become homeless,

11:06 he feels bad for him and offers

11:09 to let him stay at his house until he finds a job.

11:13 Squidward accepts the offer.

11:15 Soon enough,

11:15 we see SpongeBob treating his guest with massages and breakfast in bed.

11:20 From SpongeBob’s deed,

11:22 we can derive at least three virtues: friendliness, generosity,

11:27 and hospitality.

11:28 He’s friendly enough to offer his former colleague and neighbor a place to stay,

11:34 and generous with his time and energy, doing everything he can to make his guest

11:38 feel comfortable, which is hospitality.

11:41 So far, so good.

11:42 Although the massages and breakfast in bed

11:46 already suggest that SpongeBob is balancing on

11:48 the edge between virtue and excess.

11:51 As Pramik mentioned, SpongeBob isn’t perfect.

11:54 He makes mistakes.

11:55 But he ultimately strives to

11:57 do the right thing.

11:59 Squidward, on the other hand, quickly begins to misuse

12:03 SpongeBob’s virtuous nature,

12:04 exploiting it by treating him like a servant, day and night.

12:09 And so we see SpongeBob drifting away from the Golden Mean.

12:15 Friendliness becomes obsequiousness: instead of relating to others as an equal,

12:19 he turns into a people-pleaser,

12:21 a doormat.

12:22 Generosity becomes prodigality:

12:24 an excessive sacrifice of one’s own time, energy,

12:29 and well-being for the sake of someone else.

12:32 And hospitality becomes servility

12:34 as he effectively becomes a servant in his own home,

12:38 surrendering his domain to his guest.

12:40 It doesn’t take long before SpongeBob realizes something isn’t right.

12:44 He has drifted away from

12:47 the Golden Mean.

12:48 Therefore, this whole situation with Squidward requires correction.

12:52 Squidward proves a difficult nut to crack,

12:55 as SpongeBob’s patience, another virtue he demonstrates, doesn’t

12:59 seem to change his increasingly lazy behavior.

13:03 So harsher measures are needed.

13:06 SpongeBob doesn’t get angry quickly,

13:09 but he finally erupts after Squidward repeatedly crosses his boundaries:

13:13 he kicks him out of the house and escorts him back to The Krusty Krab.

13:19 But isn’t anger a bad thing?

13:22 According to Aristotle, anger isn’t bad when it’s righteous;

13:26 a view later criticized by the Stoic Seneca the Younger,

13:29 who argued that there’s no righteous

13:32 anger; anger is bad, period.

13:34 But Aristotle believed that “to be angry with the right person

13:38 and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose,

13:43 and in the right way,” as

13:44 he stated it, can actually be a good thing.

13:47 SpongeBob’s outburst of anger may not have

13:50 been exemplary; it was certainly functional.

13:53 It corrected a toxic situation that clearly impeded

13:56 his eudaimonia and led him back to virtue.

14:00 Most of what SpongeBob does seems to align with

14:03 the Golden Mean.

14:04 He’s wealthy enough to flourish, not excessive nor poor.

14:08 He’s friendly enough to

14:10 maintain a fulfilling social life,

14:11 without becoming quarrelsome on the one hand or a

14:14 brownnoser on the other.

14:16 He’s ambitious, as in, he strives for excellence in his work and

14:20 improvement where needed,

14:22 but he’s not overly ambitious nor is he lazy or unmotivated.

14:27 To find more elaborate examples of SpongeBob’s virtues,

14:30 I’d advise you to read the essay by

14:33 Pramik, which you can find in the book SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy:

14:37 Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea!.

14:39 But there is another ingredient of SpongeBob’s

14:43 virtue that deserves closer attention.

14:45 What ingredient, you ask?

14:47 Krabby Patties.

14:52 When we think of ‘dream jobs’,

14:54 we usually think of becoming a pilot, doctor, entrepreneur, or lawyer.

14:59 And, apparently, ‘content creator’ is also high on several lists I came across,

15:05 so lucky me.

15:06 But flipping burgers in a fast-food joint,

15:09 working with an insufferable, unmotivated colleague,

15:12 and a stingy, greedy boss?

15:14 That isn’t exactly what most people aspire to.

15:17 It’s usually hard, repetitive work with low pay,

15:21 and it doesn’t particularly exude status and prestige.

15:25 Nevertheless, we cannot deny that SpongeBob loves his job.

15:30 Every morning when he wakes up,

15:31 he can’t wait to be behind the grill in The Krusty Krab,

15:35 to make Krabby Patties.

15:36 When SpongeBob is working, he gives it 110 percent.

15:40 He’s determined to do as

15:42 good a job as possible, improve wherever he can,

15:46 and support anything that benefits The

15:48 Krusty Krab and its customer experience,

15:50 be it a new drive-thru to serve more people or

15:54 participating in a training video that teaches

15:56 how to make the perfect Krabby Patty.

15:59 It’s no surprise that SpongeBob has been on a

16:03 long streak of being employee of the month.

16:07 According to Aristotle,

16:09 happiness lies in performing our activities with excellence.

16:14 He observed that everything we do has a goal.

16:18 The goal of medicine is health, the goal of

16:21 war is victory, and the goal of building is a house.

16:26 As mentioned before, Aristoteles believed

16:28 that happiness is the goal of human life.

16:32 But this happiness doesn’t come automatically.

16:34 Aristotle illustrates this with an example.

16:37 The difference between a harpist and a good

16:40 harpist is that the former merely plays the harp,

16:44 while the latter plays it well.

16:46 And so it is with life.

16:49 We can simply go through life, or we can live life well.

16:53 Living well means exercising virtue in whatever we do.

16:57 And this is exactly what

16:59 we see in SpongeBob’s work, flipping burgers.

17:02 He approaches his job with enthusiasm and

17:05 dedication and takes pride in doing it well.

17:09 So, for him, something as ordinary as making

17:12 Krabby Patties every day becomes an opportunity to excel.

17:15 He flourishes at work not because he has a

17:19 dream job, but because he performs an ordinary job with

17:23 excellence and finds joy in doing so.

17:26 Or how Pramik puts it (and I quote): It’s no mistake SpongeBob prefers to stay

17:32 at a rather thankless job.

17:35 Being a fry cook certainly comes with no special benefits other

17:39 than sweating over a hot, greasy grill for hours on end.

17:44 SpongeBob, however, remains, not for monetary benefits but because it is what

17:49 he loves to do and it brings him happiness.

17:52 End quote.

17:53 Again, according to Aristotle,

17:56 a virtuous life is a happy life,

17:58 and happiness lies not in what we have but in how we live; it’s

18:02 a matter of activity rather than possession.

18:05 But there’s an important nuance here.

18:08 Even though external conditions are not virtues in themselves,

18:11 they still play a role in living a happy,

18:15 flourishing life.

18:16 Let’s take a closer look.

18:23 But nevertheless happiness plainly requires

18:27 external goods too, as we said; for it is impossible, or at least not easy,

18:32 to act nobly without some furniture of fortune.

18:35 ..wrote Aristotle.

18:36 He argued that we need at least

18:39 some external goods to flourish.

18:41 For example, we need political influence

18:44 to improve our communities (at least via politics).

18:47 We need friends because a good

18:49 life is not lived in isolation,

18:51 and they support us in difficult times and share in

18:54 the activities we enjoy and find meaningful.

18:57 In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that the

19:01 absence of some things in our lives takes the “bloom off our happiness”.

19:07 He mentions good birth, the blessing of children, and personal beauty.

19:11 Somewhat harshly, he also suggests that misfortune,

19:15 such as poverty, isolation, childlessness,

19:18 having bad friends or no friends at all,

19:21 and even ugliness, can stand in the way of happiness.

19:25 Aristotle lived many centuries ago in a very different society, so his examples

19:30 of necessary externals might not be exactly

19:33 what we need today in technologically advanced,

19:36 often individualistic cultures with different norms and values.

19:40 But I don’t think it’s far-fetched to say

19:44 that some “furniture of fortune,” as he calls it,

19:49 makes it easier to flourish in life.

19:53 When it comes to SpongeBob, we see that he doesn’t have all the things Aristotle

19:57 sees as conducive to happiness, at least, not optimally.

20:01 SpongeBob has no kids; he generally

20:04 doesn’t have much power or influence in the community,

20:07 and he wasn’t born in a rich family,

20:10 nor does he have an extensive social life.

20:12 But on the flip side (pun intended), he does

20:15 have a best friend, Patrick Star, and a beloved pet, Gary.

20:20 He’s also friends with Sandy Cheeks

20:22 and is somewhat befriended by Squidward, although it’s complicated.

20:26 He’s cordial and involved with

20:28 his community, and he knows many people in Bikini Bottom.

20:31 He has his job, a stable home, and food on

20:35 the table.

20:36 He enjoys activities like jellyfishing and blowing bubbles,

20:40 preferably with friends.

20:42 So, when we look at it,

20:45 SpongeBob’s furniture of fortune is actually pretty extensive;

20:48 it allows for a happy life.

20:51 So far, we’ve examined SpongeBob

20:54 through Aristotle’s framework to see whether he

20:57 lives a virtuous and flourishing life.

21:00 And by that standard,

21:01 he appears to be doing remarkably well, much as Pramik suggested.

21:06 But what does the

21:08 life of a happy, virtuous sponge look like in practice?

21:11 What does his “flourishing”

21:13 mean in everyday life?

21:15 Let’s take a look.

21:20 Every day seems a gift to SpongeBob; something beautiful to be happy about.

21:25 We see his tendency to celebrate every new day clearly in The SpongeBob Movie:

21:30 Sponge on the Run,

21:32 where he wakes up full of enthusiasm and joy, a behavior most SpongeBob

21:36 fans would probably recognize as typical.

21:38 He then wakes up Patrick, who, infected by his

21:42 friend’s enthusiasm, greets him back with the same elation,

21:44 resulting in a joyous exchange of

21:46 wishing each other good morning (to the profound irritation of Squidward).

21:51 In the same scene,

21:52 we see SpongeBob being affectionate to Gary before

21:55 he leaves the house with his iconic smile,

21:58 as he always does when he goes to work.

22:01 Often, he chants “I’m ready” as some kind of ‘pre-work mantra’.

22:06 For many of us, the mere experience of waking up on a working day is nothing

22:11 to be excited about.

22:12 It’s just another day, isn’t it?

22:15 Moreover, many find it dreadful,

22:17 possibly because they don’t like to go to work.

22:21 When we’re just employees trying to pay the bills,

22:24 going through the motions, days become heavy, long,

22:27 and nothing to look forward to, which is

22:29 the case for Squidward.

22:31 But for SpongeBob, seeing every day as another opportunity for excellence,

22:36 his work is a source of happiness.

22:39 And it shows, if only by how happy he is

22:42 to start the day before work.

22:45 Another thing that stands out,

22:48 and probably lies at the core of his character, is his radical optimism,

22:52 particularly when something goes wrong.

22:54 We see a strong demonstration of his radical

22:58 optimism in the episode “Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!” (S8:E24),

23:02 when he witnesses Plankton complaining about life, saying, “Oh, what’s the use.

23:07 Every day the same old thing.

23:10 Life is an endless succession of failures and disappointments.” SpongeBob

23:15 then replies by saying, “Well, look on the bright side, Plankton.

23:18 If all your hopes and

23:20 dreams finally came true,

23:21 then you wouldn’t have anything left to look forward to.”

23:25 SpongeBob could have gone along with Plankton’s cynicism, but he didn’t.

23:31 He remained positive.

23:32 We see another example in the episode “Drive Thru” (S8:E2),

23:36 where The Krusty Krab is destroyed

23:38 by Mr.

23:38 Krabs himself after making too many holes in the building used as a drive-thru.

23:43 SpongeBob immediately concludes,

23:45 “We can fix it,” showing that he focuses on solutions

23:49 and possibilities rather than lingering in

23:52 negative emotions when facing adversity.

23:55 Another example is when Gary covers him in slime.

23:59 At first, SpongeBob doesn’t like it,

24:01 but he quickly concludes,

24:02 “It’s relaxing,” showing how naturally he finds the silver

24:06 lining in everyday inconveniences.

24:08 In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,

24:12 he even dedicates a whole song to positivity,

24:15 “The Positivity Song”, that starts with the words:

24:18 “Be positive,

24:19 that’s the way to live!” Another thing that stands out is SpongeBob’s joy

24:26 in the ordinary.

24:27 It’s not just work that he enjoys on a typical day.

24:31 He feels excited about almost

24:32 any activity he engages in.

24:35 Take his biggest hobby, jellyfishing, for example, which involves

24:38 running after jellyfish with a net.

24:41 Or how about blowing bubbles, making music with his nose,

24:44 eating ice cream, playing with reefblowers,

24:47 and just… walking around in Bikini Bottom.

24:51 In one instance,

24:52 he even delights in simply “pressing things.” And his idea of nightlife

24:57 includes partying at the laundromat, picking up litter,

25:00 going to the dentist, and visiting

25:02 the library.

25:03 But things get really exciting in the episode “Idiot Box” (S3:E4), when he

25:08 acquires an empty television box,

25:10 which lets him and Patrick embark on countless adventures using

25:14 their “imagination”.

25:15 SpongeBob doesn’t need much to enjoy himself; he finds joy in the ordinary.

25:21 In the episode “Best Day Ever” (S4:E20),

25:24 SpongeBob shares with Gary what he has planned for the

25:27 upcoming day: making Krabby Patties,

25:28 a karate session with Sandy, jellyfishing with Patrick,

25:31 and, finally, watching Squidward’s clarinet performance.

25:34 “I’m so excited, I think I’m gonna

25:37 explode!” he says.

25:38 He even sings a song about it, called “The Best Day Ever”, in which he

25:42 makes his high expectations for the day clear.

25:47 Unfortunately, what SpongeBob expects to be the

25:50 best day ever doesn’t go as planned.

25:53 Everything goes wrong: The Krusty Krab is shut down by

25:56 a nematode infestation, Sandy’s treedome is leaking,

26:00 Patrick breaks their jellyfishing nets,

26:02 and then he misses most of Squidward’s concert.

26:05 But as disappointed and upset as he is,

26:09 he quickly recovers from his misfortunes when his friends cheer him up.

26:13 He realizes that life isn’t

26:15 about having the best day ever, but about having friends.

26:19 His realization, ironically, makes his

26:21 day the best day ever, after all.

26:23 Because, let’s face it, is there anything better than singing

26:27 the Best Day Ever song with friends?

26:30 So, here we see SpongeBob isn’t perfect;

26:32 he can be upset and disappointed at misfortune,

26:36 but he shows resilience and quickly bounces

26:38 back to his positive attitude.

26:42 Friendship is central to SpongeBob’s life,

26:45 as the F.U.N.

26:46 song makes clear: “F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me,

26:52 N is for anywhere and anytime at all,

26:54 down here in the deep blue sea.” In many of his activities,

26:58 the activity itself seems almost secondary;

27:01 what truly matters is sharing it with others.

27:06 His closest friend is Patrick Star,

27:08 and the ‘friendship rings’ seen in the episode “The

27:11 Secret Box” (S2:E15) symbolize their bond.

27:14 Throughout the series, SpongeBob shows how

27:16 deeply he cares about his friends.

27:18 He stands up for them when they are in

27:21 trouble and openly expresses his affection.

27:24 But his appreciation for friendship goes even

27:27 further.

27:27 He not only enjoys having friends himself, but he also delights in seeing

27:32 others become friends.

27:33 In the episode “The Other Patty” (S8:E1), for example,

27:37 he even tries to reconcile the archenemies Mr.

27:40 Krabs and Plankton through an elaborate scheme.

27:44 Yet SpongeBob’s kindness is not limited to his close circle.

27:48 He generally wishes others

27:50 well and wants them to flourish just as he does.

27:53 He tends to see the good in people.

27:56 Even when someone mocks him (such as

27:58 in the episode “Mid-Life Crustacean” (S3:E15),

28:00 when a tough guy ridicules his tandem bike),

28:03 he remains friendly and largely unaffected by the insult.

28:08 There are many,

28:09 many more examples of SpongeBob’s behavior that point toward him being a happy,

28:14 flourishing individual,

28:15 steadfast in his radical optimism and determination to do good.

28:21 Sure, he isn’t perfect.

28:22 He’s not a sage or philosopher.

28:24 But he surely tries to make the best of each

28:28 day and live well.

28:34 Thank you for watching.