The Developmental Preconditions of Human Flourishing and Happiness: Part 2

This show continues our discussion from 4/22/09 that focused on the contemporary relevance of Aristotle's view of flourishing, which is the subject of a forthcoming book by Dr. Hope May entitled “Aristotle’s Ethics: Moral Development and Human Nature” (Continuum, 2009). In that earlier show, we began discussing how Aristotle views flourishing as a specific type of goal oriented activity, and, specifically, a goal oriented activity that one is intrinsically motivated to pursue. We connected this insight to the concept of self-concordance, a concept that one finds in self-determination theory (a theory of motivation). According to May’s reading of Aristotle, an individual is able to flourish and achieve eudaimonia only if certain developmental preconditions are in place. Self-concordance is no different and only comes about if a number of developmental preconditions are in place. Our earlier broadcast focused on one of these important preconditions, namely, being able to answer the question "how do you want to be remembered?" Answering this question allows you to identify the fundamental values and interests to which you are intrinsically motivated to pursue. But this is just one, among many, preconditions that need to be in place for flourishing. In this episode, we discuss some of the *other* preconditions necessary for self-concordance, including the development of habits and rituals that lead to masterful motivation and self-regulation.