The Humanities and Human Flourishing – serie

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.

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.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.This volume presents essays on the significance of theater to wellbeing and human flourishing. Combining scholarship in psychology and positive psychology with new perspectives in theater and performance studies, the volume features eleven prominent theater and performance studies scholars who offer original, previously unpublished examinations of the social benefits of theater and performance. This volume explores the questions: Why is theater considered a "social good"? And what makes theater a valuable contribution to happiness and wellbeing?Contributors point to theater as a rich source of community and examine the unique value of live, theatrical performance as a medium through which trauma as well as socio-political differences can be expressed. The personal, societal, and artistic benefits of theater are examined through chapters on actors' suffering and acting training, community theater, theater and trauma, breaking social barriers through theater, etiquette in the theater, and the theatrical community as a refuge for minoritized groups. Like other titles in this series, Theater and Human Flourishing uses an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, which here breaches the divide between science-focused fields that study human flourishing and the artistry of theatrical performance.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.This volume presents essays on the significance of theater to wellbeing and human flourishing. Combining scholarship in psychology and positive psychology with new perspectives in theater and performance studies, the volume features eleven prominent theater and performance studies scholars who offer original, previously unpublished examinations of the social benefits of theater and performance. This volume explores the questions: Why is theater considered a "social good"? And what makes theater a valuable contribution to happiness and wellbeing?Contributors point to theater as a rich source of community and examine the unique value of live, theatrical performance as a medium through which trauma as well as socio-political differences can be expressed. The personal, societal, and artistic benefits of theater are examined through chapters on actors' suffering and acting training, community theater, theater and trauma, breaking social barriers through theater, etiquette in the theater, and the theatrical community as a refuge for minoritized groups. Like other titles in this series, Theater and Human Flourishing uses an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, which here breaches the divide between science-focused fields that study human flourishing and the artistry of theatrical performance.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.This edited volume examines the role of cinema and media in the context of human flourishing. The history of cinema is rife with films and genres in which positive cinematic narratives stand out as remarkable and defining achievements. Since the 1930s through the superhero movies of today, from You Can't Take It with You or Toy Story to literary adaptations like Midsummer Night's Dream or Clueless, films have celebrated the resilience and triumphs of people pursuing a life of happiness and contentment. Yet, in the majority of these films, various crises shadow these pursuits, adding obstacles and detours that suggest films require a narrative drama of conflict, out of which human well-being and flourishing eventually emerge. This volume covers a multitude of historical periods and topics, including discussions of the Aristotelian and classical models of a "good life" that inform animated fairy tales today; how 1930s French and Hollywood films responded to the dire need for productive human relationships in a turbulent decade; the polemical positions of black film criticism through the lens of James Baldwin; a discussion of contemporary filmic quests for happiness; the challenges for women filmmakers today in mapping the values of their own world; the scientific, psychological, and philosophical base for human value; and the shifting media frames of modern society and selves. Cinema, Media Studies, and Human Flourishing features a diverse array of approaches to understanding human flourishing through cinematic representations of the journey to a fulfilling life.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.This edited volume examines the role of cinema and media in the context of human flourishing. The history of cinema is rife with films and genres in which positive cinematic narratives stand out as remarkable and defining achievements. Since the 1930s through the superhero movies of today, from You Can't Take It with You or Toy Story to literary adaptations like Midsummer Night's Dream or Clueless, films have celebrated the resilience and triumphs of people pursuing a life of happiness and contentment. Yet, in the majority of these films, various crises shadow these pursuits, adding obstacles and detours that suggest films require a narrative drama of conflict, out of which human well-being and flourishing eventually emerge. This volume covers a multitude of historical periods and topics, including discussions of the Aristotelian and classical models of a "good life" that inform animated fairy tales today; how 1930s French and Hollywood films responded to the dire need for productive human relationships in a turbulent decade; the polemical positions of black film criticism through the lens of James Baldwin; a discussion of contemporary filmic quests for happiness; the challenges for women filmmakers today in mapping the values of their own world; the scientific, psychological, and philosophical base for human value; and the shifting media frames of modern society and selves. Cinema, Media Studies, and Human Flourishing features a diverse array of approaches to understanding human flourishing through cinematic representations of the journey to a fulfilling life.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and to what degree the humanities can increase human happiness.This volume examines the relationship between history and human flourishing and, more broadly, investigates the ways in which the arts and humanities are related to human well-being. The essays here represent the efforts of a varied and distinguished group of professional historians to consider a deceptively simple question: what is the value of history for life? Each author asks in what ways historians, their work, and the objects of their inquiry might contribute to human well-being and how they might be encouraged to do so.History, in this volume, refers not just to the past writ large, but also to the discipline and practice of historical inquiry, along with the production and consumption of works of historical representation. Thinking of history in these ways, the contributors address a wide variety of subjects in connection to issues of well-being, considering history across time and place as a vocation, a source of the sublime, a site of play, and a repository of meaning with surprising analogues to religious experience. Overall, History and Human Flourishing uses personal experience, insight into the professional and scholarly world of historians, and a variety of historical periods and approaches to highlight the value of studying history in discussions of human flourishing. The essays in this volume identify history and the historical craft as tremendous potential resources for human well-being and of vital importance for our times.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and to what degree the humanities can increase human happiness.This volume examines the relationship between history and human flourishing and, more broadly, investigates the ways in which the arts and humanities are related to human well-being. The essays here represent the efforts of a varied and distinguished group of professional historians to consider a deceptively simple question: what is the value of history for life? Each author asks in what ways historians, their work, and the objects of their inquiry might contribute to human well-being and how they might be encouraged to do so.History, in this volume, refers not just to the past writ large, but also to the discipline and practice of historical inquiry, along with the production and consumption of works of historical representation. Thinking of history in these ways, the contributors address a wide variety of subjects in connection to issues of well-being, considering history across time and place as a vocation, a source of the sublime, a site of play, and a repository of meaning with surprising analogues to religious experience. Overall, History and Human Flourishing uses personal experience, insight into the professional and scholarly world of historians, and a variety of historical periods and approaches to highlight the value of studying history in discussions of human flourishing. The essays in this volume identify history and the historical craft as tremendous potential resources for human well-being and of vital importance for our times.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.The contributors to this volume of essays investigate the question: what do literary scholars contribute to social scientific research on human happiness and flourishing?Of all humanities disciplines, none is more resistant to the program of positive psychology or the prevailing discourse of human flourishing than literary studies. The approach taken in this volume of essays is neither to gloss over that antagonism nor to launch a series of blasts against positive psychology and the happiness industry. Rather, the contributors reflect on how their literary research--work to which they are personally committed--might become part of an interdisciplinary conversation about human flourishing. The contributors' areas of research are wide ranging, covering literary aesthetics, book history, digital humanities, and reader reception, as well as the important "inter-disciplines" of gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, and black studies-fields in which issues of stigma and exclusion are paramount, and which have critiqued the discourse of human flourishing for its failure to grapple with structural inequality and human difference. Literary scholars are drawn more readily to the problematic than to the decidable, but by dwelling on the trouble spots in a field of inquiry still largely confined to the sciences, Literary Studies and Human Flourishing provides the groundwork for new and more productive forms of interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange.

The Humanities and Human Flourishing series publishes edited volumes that explore the role of human flourishing in the central disciplines of the humanities, and whether and how the humanities can increase human happiness.The contributors to this volume of essays investigate the question: what do literary scholars contribute to social scientific research on human happiness and flourishing?Of all humanities disciplines, none is more resistant to the program of positive psychology or the prevailing discourse of human flourishing than literary studies. The approach taken in this volume of essays is neither to gloss over that antagonism nor to launch a series of blasts against positive psychology and the happiness industry. Rather, the contributors reflect on how their literary research--work to which they are personally committed--might become part of an interdisciplinary conversation about human flourishing. The contributors' areas of research are wide ranging, covering literary aesthetics, book history, digital humanities, and reader reception, as well as the important "inter-disciplines" of gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, and black studies-fields in which issues of stigma and exclusion are paramount, and which have critiqued the discourse of human flourishing for its failure to grapple with structural inequality and human difference. Literary scholars are drawn more readily to the problematic than to the decidable, but by dwelling on the trouble spots in a field of inquiry still largely confined to the sciences, Literary Studies and Human Flourishing provides the groundwork for new and more productive forms of interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange.

It has long been accepted that participating in music, either as a performer, listener, or composer, can contribute to human happiness and well-being. This volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, explores a fourth musical activity--the act of music scholarship--and reveals how engagement with the cultural, social, and political practices surrounding music contributes to human flourishing in a way that listening, performing, and even composing alone cannot.Music and Human Flourishing contains essays by eleven prominent scholars representing the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The essays are divided into three general categories and cover a broad range of topics and music traditions. In Part I, Contemplation, contributors explore a specific facet of music's connection to human flourishing and contemplate new approaches for future action. Part II, Critique, contains essays that challenge past assumptions of the various roles of music in society and highlight the effects that unconscious bias and stereotyping have had on music's effectiveness to facilitate human flourishing. Part III, Communication, features essays that explore how ethnicity, gender, religion, and technology influence our ability to connect with others through music. Collectively, these essays demonstrate how the process of thinking and writing about music and human flourishing can lead to revelations about cultural identity, social rituals, political ideologies, and even spiritual transcendence.

It has long been accepted that participating in music, either as a performer, listener, or composer, can contribute to human happiness and well-being. This volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, explores a fourth musical activity--the act of music scholarship--and reveals how engagement with the cultural, social, and political practices surrounding music contributes to human flourishing in a way that listening, performing, and even composing alone cannot.Music and Human Flourishing contains essays by eleven prominent scholars representing the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The essays are divided into three general categories and cover a broad range of topics and music traditions. In Part I, Contemplation, contributors explore a specific facet of music's connection to human flourishing and contemplate new approaches for future action. Part II, Critique, contains essays that challenge past assumptions of the various roles of music in society and highlight the effects that unconscious bias and stereotyping have had on music's effectiveness to facilitate human flourishing. Part III, Communication, features essays that explore how ethnicity, gender, religion, and technology influence our ability to connect with others through music. Collectively, these essays demonstrate how the process of thinking and writing about music and human flourishing can lead to revelations about cultural identity, social rituals, political ideologies, and even spiritual transcendence.

Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing explores the implications of religious studies and theology for well-being, illuminating connections between theory, pedagogy, and practice with nuance and depth. Contributors to the volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, construct and critique various conceptualizations of well-being and different approaches to its cultivation, both inside and outside of the classroom. From north India to the buckle of the American Bible Belt, the volume provides a variety of perspectives on approaches to the cultivation of well-being, including formations of the ideal life and the perfect death in antiquity and modernity in the Muslim world; constructions of existential meaning, purpose, and goodness in pastoral theology, care, and counseling; and skepticism surrounding understandings of religion and spirituality in positive psychology, among others.

Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing explores the implications of religious studies and theology for well-being, illuminating connections between theory, pedagogy, and practice with nuance and depth. Contributors to the volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, construct and critique various conceptualizations of well-being and different approaches to its cultivation, both inside and outside of the classroom. From north India to the buckle of the American Bible Belt, the volume provides a variety of perspectives on approaches to the cultivation of well-being, including formations of the ideal life and the perfect death in antiquity and modernity in the Muslim world; constructions of existential meaning, purpose, and goodness in pastoral theology, care, and counseling; and skepticism surrounding understandings of religion and spirituality in positive psychology, among others.

Visual Arts and Human Flourishing brings together thoughtful and innovative thinkers from various visual arts fields such as art history, architecture, public art, and museums, to examine visual arts' relationship to flourishing, well-being, and happiness from the ancient world to the present day. From the poetic musings of exiled Cuban artist Enrique Martinez Celaya, to the practical utopianism of Kulapat Yantrassast as he tries to rescue architecture from the coldness of Modernism; from the musings of Steven Fine about the decorative arts in ancient synagogues in creating community and meaning, to Faya Causey's analysis of the role of amber in celebrations and rituals over the millennia, and throughout the many other chapters of the book as a whole, the contributors examine how visual arts have promoted expansive expressions of an ever more flourishing and thriving humanity. The essays in this volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, demonstrate how the process of thinking, writing, creating, and general curiosity about visual art can play a vital role in human flourishing.

Visual Arts and Human Flourishing brings together thoughtful and innovative thinkers from various visual arts fields such as art history, architecture, public art, and museums, to examine visual arts' relationship to flourishing, well-being, and happiness from the ancient world to the present day. From the poetic musings of exiled Cuban artist Enrique Martinez Celaya, to the practical utopianism of Kulapat Yantrassast as he tries to rescue architecture from the coldness of Modernism; from the musings of Steven Fine about the decorative arts in ancient synagogues in creating community and meaning, to Faya Causey's analysis of the role of amber in celebrations and rituals over the millennia, and throughout the many other chapters of the book as a whole, the contributors examine how visual arts have promoted expansive expressions of an ever more flourishing and thriving humanity. The essays in this volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, demonstrate how the process of thinking, writing, creating, and general curiosity about visual art can play a vital role in human flourishing.

This book offers a landmark exploration of what the arts and humanities can contribute to the conceptualization and cultivation of human flourishing. Edited by James O. Pawelski--founding director of the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at the University of Pennsylvania--this book serves as the capstone of a decade-long, nine-volume inquiry into the emerging field of the Positive Humanities. Bringing together leading scholars from eight core disciplines in the arts and humanities--philosophy, history, literary studies, religious studies and theology, theater, cinema and media, music, and the visual arts--it provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of how these disciplines engage with, understand, and advance human flourishing.The contributors trace the intellectual histories of their disciplines, investigate the distinctive strengths of reflective inquiry and experiential engagement, and illuminate how bringing these modes together can deepen our understanding of what it means to flourish. The volume addresses central themes in contemporary debates, including the relationship between happiness and flourishing, the various ways the humanities may promote well-being in individuals and communities, the importance of ethics and social justice, the interconnectedness of human and non-human worlds, and the risk of framing flourishing as mere adaptation to unjust conditions.In addition to conceptual analysis, the book highlights practical pathways through which the humanities foster flourishing--creativity and imagination, meaning-making, pedagogy, community building, and social transformation. Concluding with a forward-looking agenda, this book points to new possibilities for advancing human flourishing through a collaboration across the humanities, social sciences, and other domains of inquiry.