Identifying the Most Effective Means of Promoting, in Practice, Genuine Human Flourishing

Goal

If human flourishing is the goal, an issue which resides at the heart of reaching this goal is clarifying what is the most effective means of promoting it. This idea will bring us closer to that understanding.
Much work has been done in terms of different conceptions of human flourishing and how to promote it both in western and eastern philosophical, spiritual, scientific and artistic traditions. The aim of this idea is to distill from those different approaches the essential components of human flourishing and the discernment of the most effective means of promoting it in practical terms.
There are two main aspects to this idea. One is in reaching the essential, indispensable, components of a consistent conception of human flourishing. The other is in clarifying the pillars which, when joined, form the conditions which are most conducive to the promotion de facto of the essence of a consistent conception of human flourishing. In terms of both aspects above mentioned, this idea takes on the challenge of reaching a consistent and workable synthesis from approaches which come from different fields of knowledge and give us what is most essential in the most consistent approaches and form a coherent whole.

Opportunity

Flourishing understood as the ideal development of a human being towards their excellence can benefit from different areas - both in term of clarifying its essential aspects and how to reach it. Philosophical and psychological traditions which focus on character development, or on the fullest realization of one's self. Spiritual traditions which focus on developing the capacity to relate efficiently with one's emotions and thoughts. Neuroscience. The arts. What we lack is a systematic way of distilling from all those areas the essential aspects involved in human flourishing and how to most effectively promote it. This idea will provide that.

Roadblocks

One challenge is in finding a basic agreement in terms of which are the essential features. Some degree of disagreement can be tolerated. The main difficulty will be in accommodating core differences in conceptions of life out of which different accounts of human flourishing derive. For instance, it may be challenging to reach a synthesis from approaches which have spiritual development as essential and those which do not. It will also be challenging to coordinate between an account of the essential features of human flourishing and an account of the pillars which are most conducive to its promotion.

Breakthroughs Needed

Multidisciplinary teams would need to be formed in order to seek a synthesis of the essential features of human flourishing and of the most effective way of promoting it. Having different accounts about one, the other, or both is not problematic. But if major contradictions about the indispensable features arise work would be required in terms of elaborating on and clarifying them. Specific projects could be stablished for that work. The effort would ideally be aimed at resolving the contradictions. But in cases where such resolution can't be reached, we would strive to clarify in precise terms where and why those contradictions couldn't be resolved.
The two aspects of the idea are connected in an important way. If we are to have truly helpful accounts of the most effective ways of promoting, in practical terms, human flourishing those accounts need to properly reflect the understanding of human flourishing which it adopts. This suggests a need for a coordination in stages. Multidisciplinary teams would need to be formed in order to select the most consistent and promising conceptions of human flourishing in terms of generating, in practical terms, genuine flourishing.

Key Indicators of Success

The initiative would be successful if in 3 years it has gather a consistent view of the essential features of human flourishing from the perspective of the most relevant traditions and areas of knowledge.
Success within 5 years can be measured by how successful the multidisciplinary working groups have been in coming up with a synthesis of the contributions coming from different approaches.
We have been successful if in 10 years we have managed to clearly identify what are the key aspects which together gives us the most effective means of promoting, in practice, genuine human flourishing.

Additional Information

The idea involves researching into and developing: a) a conception of what human flourishing in essence entails; and b) a conception of the most effective leverage that will promote such flourishing de facto. It has great potential to serve as a groundbreaking basis for developing effective approaches and methodologies for the promotion of genuine human flourishing.
An important source is classical Greek (mostly Socratic and Aristotelian) virtue ethics. How helpful this tradition can be is well illustrated by Aristotle's work 'Nicomachean Ethics'. Another helpful source are the western philosophical conceptions of the proper development of a human being. The usefulness of this tradition can be observed through Jean-Jacques Rousseau's work 'Emile, or On Education'. That usefulness can also be observed through the Bildung tradition, from Germany, well-illustrated in Wilhelm Von Humboldt's work 'The Sphere and Duties of Government'.
Eastern philosophical traditions can also be very useful for the idea, such as certain strains of Buddhism and Taoism, which not only have their own conceptions of virtue ethics, but also in general can be seen as traditions which aim precisely at the most appropriate development of human beings.
Psychology also has much to contribute, which can be illustrated by the tradition of positive psychology. The work of the VIA Institute on Character illustrates both how the area can be a helpful source for the idea and how the idea can serve as a profoundly useful basis for the development of tools and methodologies which can be made available for the general public in a life-changing way.
Other areas such as education, science (for instance, neuroscience and cognitive science), and the arts will be useful not only in terms of providing insights into the essential features of human flourishing, but they can also provide great light and insight into the mechanics of promoting, in practical terms, genuine human flourishing.
These are a few illustrations of how different areas and traditions have great potential for contributing to the idea. One of the points of this idea is precisely to uncover what these and also other traditions and areas of knowledge not mentioned here can most helpfully offer in terms of human flourishing. An idea that successfully derives the very essence of what the different approaches have to offer and manages to discern a consistent and coherent synthesis of those essential features can become a powerful basis for the promotion of human flourishing in a large scale in our society.
Possible collaborators for the idea would be:
- Professor Christian Miller, from the Wake Forest University (who has led 'The Character Project'), who would be a great source in terms of character development;
- Professor Balaganapathi Devarakonda, Head of the Department of Philosophy from the University of Delhi, who would be a great source in terms of eastern traditions of philosophy;
- Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, who created the VIA Institute on Character.