Human flourishing

is a necessary component of human flourishing. It is grounded in Aristotelian ethics, values health

inherently, and is relevant to every aspect of human life. Human flourishing upholds our shared
humanity and is in the best interests of all.
For humans to flourish, it is necessary for both individuals and societies to be on a road toward overall
excellent physical and mental health.

Psychologists are interested in happiness for two reasons. First, psychologists study happiness because
lay people are interested in happiness. People from around the world are asked to list the most
important things to them. People rank attaining happiness as being more important than acquiring
money, maintaining good health, and even going to heaven. A second reason why psychologists study
happiness is because a person’s evaluative responses to the world may provide information about the
basic characteristics of human nature. One of the most basic principles guiding psychological theory is
that people and animals are motivated to approach things in the world that cause pleasure and to avoid
things in the world that cause pain.

Happiness, or subjective well-being, is a state of emotional well-being that a person might experience
either narrowly when pleasant things happen in a particular moment or more broadly as a favorable
assessment of one's life and accomplishments overall. Both negative and positive emotions such as love,
excitement, and interest can be distinguished from happiness, including sadness, fear, and wrath. This
emotion frequently arises alongside a particular facial expression.

Aristotle believed that human flourishing requires a life with other people. Aristotle taught that people
acquire virtues (i.e., good habits) through practice and that a set of concrete virtues could lead a person
toward his natural excellence and happiness.

According to Aristotle, there is an end to all of the actions that we perform that we desire for ourselves.
This is what is known as eudaimonia, flourishing, or happiness, which is desired for its own sake with all
other things being desired on its account.

Eudaimonia, also spelled eudaemonia, in Aristotelian ethics, is the condition of human flourishing or of
living well.
Nicomachean Ethics is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life for a human being.
Aristotle begins the work by positing that there exists some ultimate good toward which, in the final
analysis, all human actions ultimately aim.

Human flourishing arises as a result of different components such as;

-Phronesis
-Friendship
-Wealth
-Power

 The components of human flourishing altered as time passed.

 Ancient Greeks had the view that obtaining these would invariably bring the seekers
satisfaction, enabling them to participate in the larger idea of what we now refer to as the
Good.

 People discovered ways to live more comfortably, travel more, create more goods, and
increase their income.

 Today's people are expected to take on the role of "man of the world."

 Supposed to place himself in a global community, working alongside organizations and the
government to achieve a shared objective.

Principles of Human Flourishing

Dignity of the Human person - innate personal values or rights which demand respect for all people,
regardless of race, social class, wealth etc.

Common Good - sacrificing self-interest to provide for the basic human needs of everyone makes the
whole community flourish.

Preferential Option for the Poor - when decisions are made by first considering the poor.

Subsidarity - when all those affected by a decision are involved in making it.

Universal Purpose of Goods - the Earth's resources serve every person's needs, regardless of who
"owns" them.

Stewardship of Creation - duty to care for the Earth as a (God-given) gift is a personal responsibility for
the common good.
Promotion of Peace - everyone has the duty to respect and collaborate in personal relationships, and at
national and global levels.

Participation - everyone has the right and the duty to take part in the life of a society (economic,
political, cultural, religious)

Global Solidarity - recognition that we are all interconnected, part of one human family.

DIFFERENT CONCEPTIONS OF HUMAN FLOURISHING

EASTERN
-The focus is community-centric.
- An individual should sacrifice himself for the sake of society.
-Chinese Confucian system.
-Japanese Bushido.
-Encourage studies of literature, sciences, and art for a greater cause.

WESTERN
-More focused on the individual.
-Human flourishing as an end.
-Aristotelian view.
-Aims for eudaimonia as the ultimate good.
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Every innovation, success, and discovery adds to the body of

human knowledge.
-Humans have a constant drive to identify themselves in the
world by locating evidence of their evolution.
-Arouses in us a sense of self-importance
-Science's advancements have made technology a human
endeavor in which we excel.
-Truth and good are fundamentally intertwined.