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Nicomachean Ethics
16 Mar 2010-
About: The article was published on 2010-03-16 and is currently open access. It has received 6085 citations till now.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth, and found that these aspects are not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes.
Abstract: Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature (i.e., self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) were operationalized. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies (i.e., affect balance, life satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, locus of control, depression). Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research.
10,548 citations
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: Amartya Sen as discussed by the authors proposes that alternatives be appraised by looking to the capabilities they provide for individuals rather than only by individual utilities, incomes, or resources (as in commonly used theories).
Abstract: Amartya Sen (1933–) was born and educated in India before completing his doctorate in economics at Cambridge University. He has taught in India, England, and the United States and is currently the Lamont University Professor at Harvard University. He is one of the most widely read and influential living economists. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages. In 1998, he was awarded the Nobel Price in Economics for his work on welfare economics, poverty and famines, and human development. He has also made major contributions to contemporary political philosophy. In this essay, he proposes that alternatives be appraised by looking to the capabilities they provide for individuals rather than only by individual utilities, incomes, or resources (as in commonly used theories). Introduction Capability is not an awfully attractive word. It has a technocratic sound, and to some it might even suggest the image of nuclear war strategists rubbing their hands in pleasure over some contingent plan of heroic barbarity. The term is not much redeemed by the historical Capability Brown praising particular pieces of land – not human beings – on the solid real-estate ground that they ‘had capabilities’. Perhaps a nicer word could have been chosen when some years ago I tried to explore a particular approach to well-being and advantage in terms of a person's ability to do valuable acts or reach valuable states of being.
3,188 citations
TL;DR: The authors provide a more complete conceptual model of entrepreneurial action that allows for examining entrepreneurial action at the individual level of analysis while remaining consistent with a rich legacy of system-level theories of the entrepreneur.
Abstract: By considering the amount of uncertainty perceived and the willingness to bear uncertainty concomitantly, we provide a more complete conceptual model of entrepreneurial action that allows for examination of entrepreneurial action at the individual level of analysis while remaining consistent with a rich legacy of system-level theories of the entrepreneur. Our model not only exposes limitations of existing theories of entrepreneurial action but also contributes to a deeper understanding of important conceptual issues, such as the nature of opportunity and the potential for philosophical reconciliation among entrepreneurship scholars.
2,347 citations
TL;DR: Waterman et al. as discussed by the authors found a strong positive correlation between personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment, and concluded that personal expression is a signifier of success in the process of self-realization.
Abstract: Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment constitute 2 philosophical conceptions of happiness. Two studies involving combined samples of undergraduate and graduate students (Study 1, N = 209; Study 2, N = 249) were undertaken to identify the convergent and divergent aspects of these constructs. As expected, there was a strong positive correlation between personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Analyses revealed significant differences between the 2 conceptions of happiness experienced in conjunction with activities for the variables of (a) opportunities for satisfaction, (b) strength of cognitive-affective components, (c) level of challenges, (d) level of skills, and (e) importance. It thus appears that the 2 conceptions of happiness are related but distinguishable and that personal expressiveness, but not hedonic enjoyment, is a signifier of success in the process of self-realization. The qualities deemed to represent optimal, healthy, or effective psychological functioning have been a perennial concern within personality psychology. However, work on optimal functioning has generally been carried out within diverse theoretical systems with few efforts made to interrelate or integrate concepts proposed as optimal within the different theories. Four such constructs are (a) a sense of personal identity (Erikson, 1963, 1968—ego analytic theory), (b) self-actualization (Maslow, 1968,1970—humanistic theory), (c) an internal locus of control (Rotter, 1966—social learning theory), and (d) principled moral reasoning (Gilligan, 1982, Kohlberg, 1969—cognitive developmental theory). In an analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of these constructs, I (Waterman, 1981, 1984) have demonstrated that they share individualistic philosophical assumptions regarding the role of self-realization as a component of optimal psychological functioning. The philosophical theory that corresponds to the perspectives advanced with regard to each of the four constructs, and that is foundational to claims made for each, is eudaimonism.
2,163 citations
TL;DR: Ryff as mentioned in this paper revisited key messages from Aristotle's Nichomacean Ethics to strengthen conceptual foundations of eudaimonic well-being, and examined ideas about positive human functioning from existential and utilitarian philosophy as well as clinical, developmental, and humanistic psychology.
Abstract: In an effort to strengthen conceptual foundations of eudaimonic well-being, key messages from Aristotle’s Nichomacean Ethics are revisited Also examined are ideas about positive human functioning from existential and utilitarian philosophy as well as clinical, developmental, and humanistic psychology How these perspectives were integrated to create a multidimensional model of psychological well-being [Ryff, CD: 1989a, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57(6), pp 1069–1081] is described, and empirical evidence supporting the factorial validity of the model is briefly noted Life course and socioeconomic correlates of well-being are examined to underscore the point that opportunities for eudaimonic well-being are not equally distributed Biological correlates (cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, immune) of psychological well-being are also briefly noted as they suggest possible health benefits associated with living a life rich in purpose and meaning, continued growth, and quality ties to others We conclude with future challenges in carrying the eudaimonic vision forward
1,960 citations
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