Philosophy and Human Flourishing

by Stuhr, John J.

• ISBN13: 9780197622162
• ISBN10: 019762216X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2022-12-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What is a thriving, meaningful, and flourishing human life? What practices, associations, policies, and institutions support flourishing lives?

These questions are not new ones. Philosophers from Buddha and Socrates onward have stressed that love of wisdom is demonstrated by living well--not by thought or theory alone but by action and practice. In light of new developments in positive psychology, psychiatry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics, these questions can be addressed with fresh insight rooted in both theory and practice. This new perspective is further supported by recent research in feminist theory, critical race studies, philosophical psychology, neuro-ethics, and more. Philosophy and Human Flourishing both draws on and charts new directions for philosophy and humanistic thought aimed at human flourishing.

To reflect the fact that human lives and cultures differ, the perspectives here are refreshingly pluralistic, a commitment evident in the breadth and diversity of its highly accomplished contributors. Their expertise spans philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, evolutionary theory, cognitive science, ethics, political theory, social epistemology, education, and the arts. Each chapter is crisp, clear, and free of technical jargon. All contributors write in explicit conversation and cross-reference each other to create a volume that is cohesive and engaging.

Human flourishing does not happen automatically or by default. It demands careful reflection and imagination. This book takes up and applies that reflection and imagination to the search for a flourishing life.

Author Biography

John J. Stuhr is Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and American Studies at Emory University. He received his BA from Carleton College and his MA and PhD from Vanderbilt University. He has held faculty positions at Vanderbilt, Penn State, University of Oregon, and Whitman
College and visiting appointments in Freiburg, Germany and Melbourne, Australia. Specializing in 19th and 20th century American and European ethics and politics, he has written or edited a dozen books and over 100 scholarly articles and book chapters. He is Editor of the Journal of Speculative
Philosophy, Series Editor of American Philosophy, and Founding Director of the American Philosophies Forum.

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction
Philosophy and Human Flourishing: Good Lives and How to Lead Them

Part I: Meanings of Human Flourishing
Chapter 1: The Conatus Project: Mattering and Morality by Rebecca Newberger
Goldstein
Chapter 2: Flourishing in the Flesh by Mark Johnson
Chapter 3: Pragmatic Stories of Selves and Their Flourishing by Jessica Wahman
Chapter 4: Well-Being: Taking Our Selves Seriously by Daniel M. Haybron
Chapter 5: Hybrid Subjectivism about Well-Being by Valerie Tiberius
Chapter 6: The Allure of the All by John Lachs

Part II: Human Flourishing in Practice
Chapter 7: Pragmatism About Flourishing: Conceptual Clarity and Practical Genius by John J. Stuhr
Chapter 8: Navigating Irreconcilable Conflicts: Philosophical Thinking for Better Lives in Unjust Contexts by Lori Gallegos de Castillo
Chapter 19: Relational Insensitivity: Social Deadening and the Interdependence of Flourishing and Withering by José Medina
Chapter 10: Values Literacy and Citizenship by John Z. Sadler
Chapter 11: Teaching Philosophy: The Love of Wisdom and the Cultivation of Human Flourishing by James Pawelski
Chapter 12: Cultivating Autotelic Activities and Freedom to Flourish by Jennifer Hansen
Chapter 13: Philosophy and the Art of Human Flourishing by Michele Moody-Adams