Print this page Philosophy Club: The Flourishing Life - Perspectives on Eudaimonia

This 10‑week Philosophy Club explores the concept of a Flourishing Life. Few philosophical questions have proved as enduring—or as relevant—as this: What does it mean to live a flourishing life?

More than two thousand years ago, Aristotle argued that the ultimate goal of human life is eudaimonia—often translated as flourishing, living well or human fulfilment. Yet this idea has always formed part of a much larger philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life, the meaning of ethical living, and what individuals and societies ought ultimately to strive for. Since then, philosophers have continually reinterpreted, challenged and expanded these ideas.

This term, the WEA Philosophy Club explores this enduring theme through three interweaving questions.

What did the great philosophers mean by flourishing. Aristotle's account of virtue and eudaimonia provides our starting point, alongside reflections on happiness, self-overcoming and other philosophical approaches over 2,500 years that have shaped our understanding of the good life.

How people and societies flourish. Our speakers examine diverse perspectives including the role of the visual arts, personal responsibility, political institutions, social conditions, denial, ambiguity, conflict and the challenges of modern life. Together these sessions reveal that flourishing has never been a single idea, but an ongoing philosophical conversation about what enables individuals and communities to live well.

What flourishing might mean in the twenty-first century. Contemporary wellbeing science, positive psychology and wellbeing economics have revived ancient questions in new forms, while the search for shared values in an increasingly fragmented world raises an even broader philosophical challenge. Could human flourishing provide a compelling "north star" for our societies—and perhaps even help inform the goals we seek to embed in increasingly capable artificial intelligence?

As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, technologically powerful and philosophically uncertain, the ancient question of what it means for human beings—and perhaps humanity itself—to flourish has never been more important.

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