Human Flourishing

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

• Sees the world and humans as part of nature

• Political philosophizing – the best way to live
• Tutor to Alexander the Great
• Unwilling to accept the relativity of the sophist
• Wanted to create a philosophical system that can
rescue knowledge and provide grounds for moral
beliefs – not simply subjective, relative or culture
Aristotle
• Creates a system of knowledge and morality
that synthesizes our knowledge of the world
(empirical) and reasoning about the world
(logic).
• First great systematic thinker about logic
• Moral scientist – believed morality was
question of science – there was a way to
discover the foundations, there is a way to
validate our moral belief as true and
objective just like the realms of science or
domains of knowledge.
• Opened the Lyceum – must have been like a
modern research University ; believed not
only on reason but on empirical knowledge
Aristotle’s Three kind of knowledge

1. Theoretical – speculative knowledge about metaphysics

or theology
2. Productive: knowledge about how to do or make things
(Rhetoric)
3. Practical: Ethics and politics
Aristotle

- Believed humans wanted to know about the world

- Things in nature has a purpose
➢Telos – end or purpose

- Human beings have a natural purpose, capacities or end

Aristotle’s Eudemian Ethics

• Believed that the end of human nature is flourishing –

happiness – eudaimonia
• Flourishing – to live a life that is flourishing because it is
lived virtuously according to reason
• Virtue ethics – credit to Aristotle
• Virtue – Greek word Arete- meaning excellence
Aristotle’s Moral Philosophy

• Humans are meant to achieve excellence

• Virtue is the key term
• To achieve happiness, one has to live a life of
excellence
• Virtue is a quality that we admire
• The virtues requires a certain reason, they
have a balance quality.
Philosophy of reason

The importance of reality, reason, and logic

in Aristotelian philosophy has enabled
science and technology to develop and
flourish (Younkins, 2003).
Flourishing

• a state where people experience positive

emotions, positive psychological
functioning and positive social functioning,
most of the time," living "within an optimal
range of human functioning."
Human Flourishing

• an effort to achieve self-

actualization and fulfillment within
the context of a larger community
of individuals, each with the right
to pursue his or her own such
efforts.
• Moral virtues dispose the individual to behave in correct
manner
• Intellectual virtues is necessary in order to reason
properly how to behave
• Five Intellectual virtues
> scientific knowledge, intuition and wisdom – consist
contemplative reasoning which is detached from human
affairs
> art or technical skill and prudence – consist of
calculative reasoning which helps us make our way in the
world
• Human civilizations and the development of science and
technology.

• Human person as both the bearer and beneficiary of

science and bearer – a person or thing that carries or
holds something.
• beneficiary- someone to whom something is given
Human Flourishing and S & T

• Human flourishes and finds meaning in the

world that he/she builds.

• Human may unconsciously acquire, consume

or destroy what the world has to offer.
Science and Technology

• must be treated as part of human life that

needs reflective and meditative thinking.
Reflective Thinking (IGI Global)
• -A form of inquiry theorized by John Dewey
• -This form of thinking requires those involved to have positive
attitudes about personal growth and moral development
(Rodgers, 2002)
• -This meaning-making process leads to a deeper
understanding that is a systematic, rigorous disciplined way
of thinking.
• -Active and persistent consideration of one's beliefs and
knowledge as they apply to problems and dilemmas
• Meditative thinking
• kind of thinking that thinks the truth of being, that belongs
to being and listens to it.
• Other name of reflective thinking
• Heidegger argues that in this thinking, we are “Ïn flight”, it
is not focused on utility but on the meaning
• Science and Technology must be examined for their
greater impact on humanity as a whole.

• We need to reflect or meditate about the knowledge that

we develop and use
Human flourishing is the ability to live a
good life.

• Values health intrinsically and applies universally to all

human lives
• Embraces our shared humanity
• It is important because it promotes the growth,
development and holistic well being of individuals and
populations.
How can we develop our abilities to flourish?
(healthequityand policylab.com)

• Individually:
1) being committed to growing within, and developing,
supportive and cultivating environments that form our
capabilities,
2) believing in ourselves and our abilities,
3) knowing about our health and how to be healthy, and
4) being self-motivated to achieve the goals that we and society
value.
How can we develop our abilities to flourish?
(healthequityand policylab.com)

• Community level:
1) contribute collaboratively to, strong support systems,
institutions, resources, norms, and security that will help us
all flourish
2) Be surrounded and supported by strong support systems,
institutions, resources, norms, and security that will help us
all flourish
The good life consists in deriving happiness by
using your signature strengths every day in the
main realms of living. The meaningful life adds one
more component: using these same strengths to
forward knowledge, power or goodness.
Martin Seligman
References
• Memije-Cruz, L. (2019) Human flourishing in science and technology: Technology as
a Mode of … (slideshare.net) (37 slides)

• Law and Justice - Aristotle and Human Flourishing - 8.1

Aristotle and Athens - Bing video

• Law and Justice - Aristotle and Human Flourishing - 8.2

The Moral Scientist - Bing video

• Law and Justice - Aristotle and Human Flourishing - 8.3

Reading Aristotle’s Politics - Bing video
• The Question Concerning Technology by Martin Heidegger
• A Return to the Beginning by Daniel J. McNamara, SJ, in Stellar Origins, Human Ways
(2011)
• Movie Clip (YouTube): The Magician’s Twin: CS Lewis and the case against Scientism
• Film: Akiro Kurosawa’s Dreams “Village of the Watermills”
• Forget ‘developing’ rich countries, it’s time to ‘de-develop’ rich countries. By Jason
Hickel
• http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-