Flourishing as the Aim of Education: A Neo-Aristotelian View

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Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of contents Preface 1. An introduction to the concept of flourishing: good character and beyond The aims of the book The basics of flourishing accounts The contours of flourishing Rehearsal of some basics about character and virtues What does a flourishing account add to an account of good character? Food for thought for practitioners 2. Theories of flourishing in education: from the ideal to the practical The new flourishing bandwagon in education The first precondition of flourishing: external necessities The second precondition of flourishing: a sense of meaning and purpose Paternalism and elitism? An ideal or a non-ideal theory of flourishing? Food for thought for practitioners 3. The flourishing–happiness concordance thesis: do these two always go hand in hand? Subjective versus objective well-being The concordance thesis: two varieties Flourishing without happiness Happiness without flourishing Just philosophical ‘armchair psychology’? Food for thought for practitioners 4. The limitations of even supreme moral virtue: why we need contemplation and wonder to flourish ‘An insightful mess’ Developmental levels, individualisation and role-modelling Role-based moralities: blessings and burdens Blowing the whistle on philistinism What is the missing virtue of contemplation then all about? Food for thought for practitioners 5. Flourishing and awe: towards an extended, ‘enchanted’ Aristotelian theory Venturing beyond Aristotle Is Aristotelian flourishing flat and disenchanted? Do we need supernaturalism to make sense of enchanted flourishing? The example of science education Initiating students into love of the transcendent Food for thought for practitioners 6. Flourishing and epiphanies: going beyond Aristotle and Kohlberg The road to Damascus Academic musings and misgivings Some relevant psychological evidence Disenchantment, awe and elevation Education for epiphanies Food for thought for practitioners 7. Flourishing and the emulation of exemplarity: going beyond Aristotle and Zagzebski Targeting the exemplarity of flourishing lives Problematics of emulation – and examples from the historical emulation literature The logical geography of admiration, emulation and elevation Elevation as awe How Mengzi (Mencius) may improve Aristotle Food for thought for practitioners 8. Conclusions and reflections – and where we need to head next A retrospective roadmap The advantages of flourishing theories Challenges and misgivings Some further reflections on educational practice for flourishing Concluding remarks and future directions Food for thought for practitioners References Index