Aristotelian musings on human flourishing

In January 2020, during China’s COVID-19 outbreak, the NASA Earth Observatory captured aerial images indicating significantly lower emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a major air pollutant, across China’s mainland.[1] Scientists across the globe have reported preliminary empirical data that amid shelter-in-place directives and the shutting down of large-scale economic activity, the environment is flourishing. Abnormal sightings of wild animals roaming freely in deserted cities have been widely reported. For example, monkeys in Lopburi, Bangkok and leatherback turtles on deserted beaches in Florida, US are thriving.[2] This pandemic has given mother earth a chance to ‘breathe.’ Environmentalists are asking how long the breather will last and whether it will sustain the earth for years to come, when business as usual returns bringing environmental challenges. This pandemic has shaken up business as usual including major economic drivers of supply and demand. At the moment, the demand for oil is at an all-time low whereas personal protective equipment (PPE) markets are booming. The world has entered into a recession, with estimates of a US $2 trillion loss. Approximately 11 million people are being pushed into poverty.[3] People are functioning differently: there is a shift toward working remotely, micro gardening in urban settings, more mindful use of resources, and spending more time at home with friends and family. These trends may put less strain on people as well as on the environment. As people find a better work-life balance and commute less, the 77.5% of pollution caused by car and air travel, may be reduced.[4] Some scientists also argue that if the planet were healthier we would see fewer viruses take hold.[5] Although scientists estimate that the impact of COVID-19 on the environment may be temporarily positive, long-lasting action and commitment are necessary to mitigate climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by United Nations member states in 2015 aim to achieve climate action, sustainable cities, and sustainable use of the earth and ocean’s resources by 2030. While there is a short-term environmental benefit of lower emissions, the long-term goals may be set back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The SDGs include eliminating poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity and peace for all people.[7] The SDGs are a stark reminder that the pre-COVID-19 world was far from perfect. Most countries’ economies are driven by exponential capitalist growth in which the environment and people are exploited for the sake of profit. Nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day.[8] 44 percent of the world’s net worth belongs to 0.8 percent of the world’s individuals[9]. This crisis has exposed systemic flaws even more, as those who have lower socio-economic standing are disproportionately affected by this pandemic. They are more susceptible because they do not have access to basic sanitation and are often forced to live in places affected worse by climate change and pollution. In 2019 Greta Thunberg, the 15-year-old environmental activist, made the case that the economics to solve the current environmental constraints did not yet exist. In 2020, amid the pandemic, the United Nations (UN) reported that there is a need to rebuild economies differently.[10] Individuals and governments may be spurred to change their approach to climate action requiring a shift of societal norms to value the environment and people’s happiness more than profit growth. In Amsterdam, donut economics will be used to help the economy recover.[11] Donut economics originated from Kate Raworth of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute’s book, ‘Donut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist.’ The inner ring of the donut refers to the minimum that people need to live a good life, which is based on the UN’s SDGs (such as food, clean water, housing, sanitation, energy, education, healthcare, gender equality, income, and political voice). Any person who does not have access to these minimum standards of living is described as living in the doughnut’s hole. The outer ring of the doughnut, where the sprinkles go, represents the ecological outer parameters, drawn up by earth-system scientists. These outer parameters delineate the boundaries which humanity should not progress beyond if it is to avoid damage to the ozone layer, oceans, freshwater resources, and abundant biodiversity. In developing countries such as South Africa, the opportunity to rebuild the economy by means of donut economics seems idealistic because a large percentage of the population lives inside the doughnut hole. The immediate challenges of debt, poverty, and food shortage brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown are pressing.[12] However, visionary leaders should take a long-term perspective as there is opportunity to do so now. For example, during this time President Cyril Ramaphosa aims to reduce the number of ‘people living inside the donut’s hole’ by improving housing infrastructure in rural areas. Rebuilding a more ethical post-COVID-19 world of both environmental and human flourishing[13] will require a planetary health perspective.[14] The Lancet[15] suggests that a planetary perspective must move beyond an emergency response toward resilience and prevention planning. In “Happiness explained: What human flourishing is and what we can do to promote it,” Paul Aland explains that the principles of human flourishing are fairness, autonomy, community, and engagement. These principles may be the pillars for post-COVID-19 environmental policies. Amid the chaos and trauma of this pandemic, it is up to individuals, leaders, scientists, and bioethicists to take a breather to reflect. It is time to dare to imagine what human and environmental flourishing may look like in a more sustainable post-COVID-19 world and start rebuilding it one step at a time. Photo by RawFilm on Unsplash [1] “These Satellite Photos Show How COVID-19 Lockdowns Have Impacted Global Emissions,” World Economic Forum, March 25, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/emissions-impact-coronavirus-lockdowns-satellites/. [2] Harry Kretchmer, “These Locked-down Cities Are Being Reclaimed by Animals,” World Economic Forum, April 17, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-cities-lockdown-animals-goats-boar-monkeys-zoo/. Deena Robinson, “Endangered Sea Turtles Thriving Amid COVID-19 Restrictions,” April 20, 2020, https://earth.org/endangered-sea-turtles-thriving-amid-covid-19-restrictions/. [3] World Economic Forum, “Why We Cannot Lose Sight of the Sustainable Development Goals during Coronavirus,” April 23, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-effect-sdg-un-progress/. [4] Hiroko Tabuchi, “‘Worse Than Anyone Expected’: Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions,” The New York Times (Online), September 19, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/climate/air-travel-emissions.html. [5] “First Person: COVID-19 Is Not a Silver Lining for the Climate, Says UN Environment Chief,” United Nations News, April 5, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082. [6] The World Bank, “Poverty,” April 16, 2020, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview. [7] United Nations Development Programme, “What Are the Sustainable Development Goals?,” 2015, https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html. [8] The World Bank, “Nearly Half the World Lives on Less than $5.50 a Day,” October 17, 2018, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day. [9] James Davies, Rodrigo Lluberas, and Anthony Shorrocks, “Global Wealth Report 2018,” Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2018. [10] “First Person: COVID-19 Is Not a Silver Lining for the Climate, Says UN Environment Chief,” United Nations News, April 5, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061082. [11] Daniel Boffey, “Amsterdam to Embrace ‘doughnut’ Model to Mend Post-Coronavirus Economy,” April 8, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/amsterdam-doughnut-model-mend-post-coronavirus-economy. [12] A van den Heever et al., “South Africa Needs a Post-Lockdown Strategy That Emulates South Korea,” The Conversation, April 18, 2020, https://theconversation.com/south-africa-needs-a-post-lockdown-strategy-that-emulates-south-korea-136678. “‘People Need to Eat’: South Africa Eases Coronavirus Lockdown,” Aljazeera, January 5, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/eat-south-africa-eases-coronavirus-lockdown-200501072927207.html. [13] Rose Deller, “Book Review: Happiness Explained: What Human Flourishing Is and How We Can Promote It by Paul Anand,” The London School of Economics and Political Science, August 24, 2016, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2016/08/24/book-review-happiness-explained-what-human-flourishing-is-and-how-we-can-promote-it-by-paul-anand/. [14] Alistair Brown and Richard Horton, “A Planetary Health Perspective on COVID-19: A Call for Papers,” The Lancet 395 (April 4, 2020): 1099. [15] Brown and Horton.

In this article I engage with the literature on human flourishing as an aim of education to argue that we need to look beyond human flourishing and embrace ecological education—an education that acknowledges and reflects the networks of interdependence of all that lives, including ourselves—inspired by an ecological ethic. The article is structured as follows. I begin by briefly introducing the problem and raising the question: is human flourishing too narrow an aim of education, from an ecological perspective? The next section discusses the value of human flourishing as an aim of education, recent objections, and rebuttals to those objections. I then turn to an ecological critique, arguing that the focus on human flourishing is ultimately (unjustifiably) anthropocentric. Even if human flourishing would require the flourishing of ecosystems, other species, biodiversity, and so on—which on standard conceptions of human flourishing is only partly true—ecological concerns cannot all be assumed to be implicit in human flourishing; and more importantly they should not be approached through human flourishing alone. I end by considering a pragmatic question: is ‘ecological flourishing’ still a plausible overarching aim (or justification) of education, or is it too far removed from the everyday reality of education and its individual and societal functions? I argue that it is fairly easy to make sense of in practical terms, and more easily embodied in concrete educational content and activities than ‘human flourishing’.

Individuals' experiences of hope and the meaning of their existence are influenced not only by personal life conditions but are also rooted in the surrounding social environment. Nevertheless, few studies have systematically examined the personal and social contexts in which hope and meaning are embedded. This study analyzes how individuals’ perceptions of hope and existential meaning are situated within various personal and social conditions in South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, using data from a social survey on quality of life and well-being in Asia. First, exploratory graph analysis(EGA) was employed to map the networks among key variables within each country and to identify cross-national differences. Subsequently, correlational class analysis(CCA) was conducted to explore within-country heterogeneity. The findings reveal notable cross-national differences in the ways and degrees to which hope and existential meaning are embedded in human and social flourishing. While hope was generally associated with elements of human flourishing across all countries, in the Philippines and Indonesia it was also embedded in social flourishing through multiple channels, compared to South Korea. In South Korea, individuals’ hope and anxieties about the future were more closely linked to human flourishing rather than to social flourishing. In contrast, individuals’ perceptions of existential meaning were found to be rooted in aspects of social flourishing in all three countries, although the degree of embedding was relatively weaker in South Korea than in Indonesia. An analysis of within-country heterogeneity further identified two distinct subgroups in each country, which exhibited clear differences in their patterns of connection to human and social flourishing, and in the ways hope and meaning were embedded in these forms of flourishing. These results suggest that South Korea is a relatively individualized and secularized society, and highlight the comparatively limited conditions under which hope can be socially cultivated.

The purpose of this research was to confirm the doctrine of the social function of property as an instrument for realising humans flourishing in the case of Surakarta City Government policy to relocate squatters in the catchment area of the Bengawan Solo River. This normative legal research used a conceptual approach. To obtain answers to the problems, the research used deductive syllogism. The major premise is used as the doctrine of the social function of property, the theory of justice and the principle of trust and a reasonable expectation, while the minor premise is the policy of the Government of Surakarta relocating squatters in the catchment area of the Solo River. Using the resulting conclusions, confirmation of doctrinal interpretation of the social function of property as an instrument for realising human flourishing is done. The conclusions of this study is the social function of property requires the Authority of Central Region Bengawan Solo River to manage riparian appropriate allocation function as flood control. Implementation of this obligation is to realise the basic right on healthy living environment. Based on the doctrine of the social function of property, then the omission and legalisation of illegal occupancy in the Bengawan Solo River catchment area create liability for the Government of Surakarta, the Authority of Central River Region Solo, and Land National Agency, to finance the relocation of squatters in the catchment area of the Solo River. Squatters relocation is intended for human fulfillment flourishing. Keywords: Social function of property, human flourishing, relocation of squatters.

This article provides an innovative perspective of emotional-regulation and human flourishing which acknowledges the fundamental role of early parent-child experiences in shaping brain structure and functioning involved in emotional regulation and the central role of mindful parenting in facilitating emotional regulation in both parent and child (co-regulation). In this perspective paper the author underlines not only the central role of emotions and emotional regulation in human development and flourishing, but also the importance of maternal mental health, mindfulness, and a connected supportive community during pregnancy and postnatally in facilitating emotional regulation in both the caregiver and the infant and thus promoting secure attachment. The role of alloparenting and how we evolved to share childrearing is introduced, and emotional regulation is described not as an individual phenomenon but a relational embodied process. The associations between right brain functioning, mindfulness and secure attachment, all leading to emotional regulation, wellbeing, and resilience are described. Sharing findings and perspectives offer an opportunity for insights and reflection upon what strategies could be created to promote relational emotional regulation and wellbeing in early life, thus human flourishing leading to a peaceful society.

Purpose This study aims to propose a causal relationship between the level of students’ human flourishing (HF) and their entrepreneurial intention (EI) and the mediation role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE). Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 5,035 first-year university students who graduated from 950 different upper secondary schools in Mexico and abroad. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings The results reveal that HF increases EI and ESE; ESE positively impacts EI; and the student’s ESE partially mediates the HF-EI relationship. Practical implications These findings may improve educational strategies in upper secondary schools and higher education institutions’ management programmes to impact graduates’ HF and EI. To the knowledge, the authors are the first to measure how HF in upper secondary school graduates contributes to increasing their EI. Social implications Recommendations are made to increase Latin American students’ HF and EI. Originality/value The authors propose an inverse relationship between HF and EI, as HF can be enhanced in upper secondary education to boost EI later in students’ lives.

This essay surveys the many, contradictory links between private ownership and human flourishing and assesses the moral implications of this complexity. It begins with and ultimately broadens claims made by leading South African scholars on the need to reconsider longstanding ways of thinking about property, particularly the “rights paradigm.” Private ownership in obvious ways benefits an owner. But as explained, the links between private rights and human flourishing are far greater, implicating not just owners but neighbors, surrounding communities, the landless, future generations, and other life forms. The recognition of private property rights can both expand and curtail human flourishing. As for human flourishing, it is equally complex in that it is affected by many factors going far beyond physical needs. Property rights are created by law and involve the use of state power to protect rights by curtailing the liberties of non-owners and others. The only sound moral justification of this use of coercive power — this use of state power to help owners control and dominate others — rests in the ways a well-designed property regime can foster the welfare of nearly everyone, owners and non-owners alike. Law thus should not vest an owner with any power that does not, on balance, promote widespread human flourishing. Inherited ways of thinking about private property cloud these realities and distort inquiries into property’s origins and moral and practical consequences. Much of this thought is best wiped away with discussion begun from a new place, from an express recognition of private property as an evolving, socially created, morally complex institution that can both promote and undercut human flourishing, an institution that must be carefully calibrated to maintain its moral legitimacy and maximize its social benefits.

Increasing secularization seems to fly in the face of Christian proposals for a Scripture-only principle for theology. The question that this dissertation explores is "How will Christian theology tackle the resulting church-society impasse in a way that is both faithful to Scripture and intelligible contemporaneously without appearing to privilege one aspect over the other?" That is, "What form should theological method take to efficaciously engage the secular?" This study suggests that the answer might lie in an innovative fusion of Scripture with borrowed concepts from secular culture. Thus, this dissertation responds to the problem of the need for robust, multidimensional theological methodology that seeks to enhance engagement with secular philosophy and culture. In the wake of cultural shifts and secular dynamics, this dissertation draws from Charles Taylor's articulation of modern social imaginaries and the accompanying theses of secularity. This study shows how, in Taylor's view, secularists have derived their self-understanding and ethos of economic human flourishing by way of continual shifts and interactions in perceptions of philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and theology (PAST). From this perspective, the dissertation demonstrates how the secular identity is entangled in economics (οἰκονόμος)—material aspects of human activity (wealth production). Methodologically, utilizing a four-pronged approach, this dissertation examines these important concepts: first, by reading through lenses of selected genealogical dynamics of modern social imaginaries; secondly, via the contours of Charles Taylor's articulation of secularity; thirdly, via scriptural analyses of social imaginaries and human flourishing; and fourthly, by expanding their horizon of meaning by redeploying lessons, implications, and rereadings derived from applying a Spirit-directed Scripture-principle to propose a sketch of a multidimensional model toward secular engagement. The chapters of this dissertation extend secular considerations beyond a social science perspective to the biblical canon allowing the new biblical lens to broaden the term "human flourishing" from economics to a more wholistic conception and producing new understandings of PAST and οἰκονόμος. Connecting the conversation about secularity, social imaginaries, and human flourishing with ongoing discussions about theological method, and articulating for rereadings, the dissertation concludes by proposing a three-dimensional model—secular, canonical, and stewardship (οἰκονόμος)—that appears as a potentially powerful response toward secular engagement. These tentative findings enhance the study's contributions: interdisciplinary, explicit multidimensionality, explicit application of human flourishing as key to secular engagement, and an explicitly practical aspect in the form of a reoriented theology of stewardship as one's way of living in the world. By focusing on these complementary dimensions,

Reviewed by: The Cage: Must, Should and Ought from Is Michael Buckley The Cage: Must, Should and Ought from Is. David Weissman. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006. Pp. 298. $65.00 h.c. 0-7914-6879-8; $24.95 pbk. 0-7914-6880-7. David Weissman’s book The Cage: Must, Should and Ought from Is defends a communitarian theory of moral realism that seeks to reverse the current trend of “ethics without ontology” by reestablishing ontology’s central role within moral theory. The argument moves from global considerations of logic and nature to more local concerns of practical life, morality, aesthetics, and culture in an effort to identify a set of nested contexts within which must, should, and ought inhere. The book’s breadth is impressive, with a chapter devoted to nearly every major branch of philosophy. But breadth poses unique challenges, one of which is the application of terms across domains. Weissman’s solution results in a somewhat unorthodox terminology. For example, normativity refers to any limit, constraint, or regulation and is used both descriptively and prescriptively. Communitarianism refers to systems theory, which “alleges that ‘things’ are systems, each created by the causal reciprocity of its proper parts” (16). The Cage argues that systems theory is a superior philosophical metatheory to its key competitors, atomism and holism. As applied to ethics, Weissman’s theory shares much with virtue ethics. Each focuses on human flourishing, and each views character as a critical element in achieving human flourishing. But Weissman’s theory departs from virtue ethics in that the basic bearers of value are states of affairs rather than persons. Obligations derive from our position within systems supporting human flourishing. These overlapping systems include families, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and states and are established and sustained by the reciprocal causal relations of their members (126). The reciprocal relations forming core systems generate the objective conditions within which oughts inhere and are thus the basic bearers of ethical value. The Cage’s moral argument is supported on the one side by logical and scientific considerations and on the other by cultural considerations: “Each of us is located in nested hierarchies of constraint, from logical and natural laws at one extreme, to the idiosyncrasies of character, work, and local weather at the other” (247). The scientific argument attempts to establish systems theory as the preferred explanatory metatheory of our natural world. Its hypotheses about dispositions, cause, system, and law aim to overturn Humean skepticism by identifying “natural norms,” or natural laws, that must inhere in the facts—the is—of our experience. The physical laws of our world and the logical laws of all possible worlds form the outermost contexts constraining moral life. [End Page 328] Culture, according to Weissman, is society’s unique way of satisfying the generic physical and social needs of its members. Dance, music, and food vary from one culture to the next, but each cultural instantiation is connected to factual elements of practical life. Morally justified cultures satisfy generic needs, the lower limits of which are “firmly grounded in physical health, core systems, and the efficacies of practical life, but higher-order possibilities—including literacy, music, and scientific theorizing—are unknown until achieved” (224). Consequently, human flourishing is tied to our natural condition as well as the factual conditions of a particular society’s development. This returns us to Weissman’s communitarian solution of the fact/value distinction. Our lives are constrained by the physical and social norms “that frame our places in nested systems, from the molecular through the cellular and bodily to the social and cultural” (226). As interdependent animals with physical and psychological needs, we form core systems of nested relations so as to realize human flourishing. Within these systems we develop characters conducive to maintaining the systems, as well as a critical, reflective distance (freedom) required to assess a system’s contribution to human flourishing (176–77). Moral obligations inhere in the normative constraints of core systems required for human flourishing. These arguments aim to reestablish and confirm the central importance of ontology to moral theory. However, the book’s thesis is more ambitious than simply relating moral principles to facts...

The study explored the relationship between religion, forgiveness, self-compassion and human flourishing among emerging adults at the University of Lagos. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, which allowed for concurrent measurement of both the dependent and independent variables. Using the accidental sampling method, a sample of 408 participants comprising 215 males (52.7%) and 193 females (47.3%) were selected for this study. The scales used to assess these participants comprised three standardized psychological instruments, the secure flourish measure, the heartland forgiveness scale and the self-compassion scale short form (SCSSF). The result however showed a significant influence of religion on forgiveness with Christians reporting the highest in forgiveness compared to other religions, the result further revealed a significant positive relationship between forgiveness and human flourishing but no significant relationship between self-compassion and human flourishing. It, also, showed forgiveness and self-compassion as joint predictors of human flourishing. The findings of this study suggest that those who are more inclined to forgive may experience greater levels of personal growth and well-being. However, this study adds more contribution to scholarship by exploring the interconnectedness between religion, Religion, forgiveness, self-compassion and human flourishing which addresses the gap in existing literature by examining in specific context emerging adults in Nigeria. Keywords: Religion, Forgiveness, Self-Compassion, Human Flourishing, Emerging Adults

If “perfectionism” in ethics refers to those normative theories that treat the fulfillment or realization of human nature as central to an account of both goodness and moral obligation, in what sense is “human flourishing” a perfectionist notion? How much of what we take “human flourishing” to signify is the result of our understanding of human nature? Is the content of this concept simply read off an examination of our nature? Is there no place for diversity and individuality? Is the belief that the content of such a normative concept can be determined by an appeal to human nature merely the result of epistemological naiveté? What is the exact character of the connection between human flourishing and human nature?These questions are the ultimate concern of this essay, but to appreciate the answers that will be offered it is necessary to understand what is meant by “human flourishing.” “Human flourishing” is a relatively recent term in ethics. It seems to have developed in the last two decades because the traditional translation of the Greek term eudaimonia as “happiness” failed to communicate clearly thateudaimoniawas an objective good, not merely a subjective good.

As the planet remains in the grips of COVID-19 and amidst enforced lockdowns and restrictions, and possibly the most profound economic downturn since the Great Depression, the resounding enquiry asks—what will the new normal look like? And, in much the same way, tourism aficionados, policy makers and communities are asking a similar question—what will the tourism landscape, and indeed the world, look like after the pandemic? As casualties from the crisis continue to fall by the wayside, the rethinking about what an emergent tourism industry might resemble is on in earnest. Many are hopeful that this wake-up call event is an opportunity to reshape tourism into a model that is more sustainable, inclusive and caring of the many stakeholders that rely on it. And some indicators, though not all, point in that direction. In line with this, the concept of ‘human flourishing’ offers merits as an alternative touchstone for evaluating the impacts of tourism on host communities. Human flourishing has a long genesis and its contemporary manifestation, pushed by COVID-19 and applied to travel and tourism, further expands the bounds of its application. Human flourishing has the potential to offer more nuanced sets of approaches by which the impact of tourism on host communities might be measured. The challenge remaining is how to develop robust indices to calibrate human flourishing policy successes.

Contemporary psychiatry maintains the myth that it is value neutral by appeal to modern medical science for both its diagnostic categories and its therapeutic interventions, leaving the impression that it relies on reason--that is to say, reason divorced from tradition--to master human nature. Such a practice has a certain way of characterizing and defining humanity's lapses from acceptable human behavior--a lapse from human being. The modern practice of psychiatry applies a particular notion (largely influenced by Enlightenment ideals) of scientific instrumentation to the human person in order to diagnose the ailment and manufacture a corresponding treatment in keeping with a hidden conception of human biological flourishing. This covert vision is an impoverished (and possibly dangerous) one. As much as the practice of psychiatry is constrained by the goals of the dominant moral tradition of our day, it becomes a tool (or technique) for achieving the transient and partial ends of modern individualism. Given this truncated view of human nature and human end, modern psychiatry fails to attend comprehensively to the unity of a life, missing altogether the essential relevance of character formation, and thereby forfeiting excellence in human flourishing.

Welcome to this special issue of JUD focusing on human health, wellbeing, and flourishing. This issue coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Global Urban Research Unit (GURU) at Newcastle Unive...

This article explores the relationship between physical literacy and human flourishing. Understanding the contribution physical literacy may have in nurturing human flourishing extends the philosophical rationale and importance of physical literacy in relation to maximizing human potential. This article proposes that the concept of physical literacy is being embraced worldwide, in part due to the contribution physical literacy may make in nurturing human flourishing. Therefore, this article discusses the relationship between physical literacy and human flourishing in detail, unveiling what value this connection may hold in promoting physical literacy as an element integral in enhancing quality of life. Aspects of human flourishing are presented and examined alongside physical literacy. Synergies between physical literacy and human flourishing are not hard to find, and this gives credence to the growing adoption of physical literacy as a valuable human capability.