Human Flourishing : Scientific Insight and Spiritual Wisdom in Uncertain Times

'A careful and thoughtful provocation' (Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury) Ambitiously placed at the intersection of scientific insights and spiritual wisdom, Human Flourishing prompts us to reflect on what constitutes a good life and the choices that can help achieve it. For thousands of years, humans have asked 'Why we are here?' and 'What makes for a good life?' At different times, different answers have held sway. Nowadays, there are more answers proposed than ever. Much of humanity still finds the ultimate answers to such questions in religion. But in countries across the globe, secular views are widely held. In any event, whether religious or secular, individuals, communities and governments still have to make decisions about what people get from life. This book therefore examines what is meant by human flourishing and see what it has to offer for those seeking after truth, meaning and purpose. This is a book written for anyone who wants a future for themselves, their children, and their fellow humans - a future that enables flourishing, pays due consideration to issues of truth and helps us find meaning and purpose in our lives. At a time when most of us are bombarded with messages about what we should or should not do to live healthily, attain a work-life balance and find meaning, a careful consideration of the contributions of both scientific insight and spiritual wisdom provides a new angle. This is therefore a book that not only helps readers clarify their views and see things afresh but also help them improve their own well-being in an age of AI and other new technologies. Possibly since humans were first capable of asking the question, certainly since the dawn of history, humans have asked why we are here and what good life consists of. Much of humanity still finds the ultimate answers to meaning and purpose in religion. But in countries across the globe, secular views are widely held. Whether religious or secular, individuals, communities and governments still have to make decisions about what people want from life. We examine what is meant by human flourishing and see what it has to offer for those seeking after truth, meaning and purpose. We argue that the concept of human flourishing provides a valuable framework within which to consider the importance of satisfying people’s yearnings for material goods, successful relationships and the hope that we can achieve and experience things that give us a sense of something greater than ourselves—the transcendent. The transcendent is not discerned only within religion; for many, the arts, nature, wilderness and a consideration of our place in the Universe are all instances of routes towards an appreciation of something beyond. The analysis we offer is of value in considering how humanity should regard developments in new technologies. Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning and gene technologies are likely radically within a generation or two to affect employment, healthcare, education, communications, transport and many other areas of life. How is humanity to evaluate the potential of such developments and steer them so as to promote human flourishing? This volume draws on both scientific insights and spiritual wisdom to help the reader focus on what is of value in helping them decide what makes for a good life. In using evidence from psychology, sociology, philosophy, theology, and other disciplines, it helps readers think through choices about what the good life consists of This book draws on both scientific insights and spiritual wisdom to help the reader focus on what is of value in helping them decide what makes for a good life. In using evidence from psychology, sociology, philosophy, theology, and other disciplines, it helps readers think through choices about what the good life consists of.