Flourishing as the Aim of Education: An outline—and Ten Remaining Problems

This chapter has two aims. The first aim is to provide an overview of the main themes from my 2020 book, Flourishing as the Aim of Education. The conception of flourishing elicited there falls broadly within the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia. Yet it distinguishes itself from Aristotle’s conception in various ways. While neo-Aristotelians typically offer friendly amendments to Aristotle’s theory in light of contemporary social scientific findings, this book departs further from the Aristotelian script by adding contours to the conception of flourishing that are recognisably un-Aristotelian. Most conspicuously, it argues that the ‘good life’ of the student must involve engagement with self-transcendent ideals and ignite awe-filled enchantment, in ways that go well beyond traditional Aristotle-inspired conceptions of eudaimonia. I arrive at this conclusion by comparing and contrasting the traditional Aristotelian conception of flourishing with various other accounts. The second aim is to introduce ten remaining problems that need to be addressed for flourishing to become a feasible aim of modern schooling.