Beautiful Ideas and the Scientific Enterprise: Sources of Intellectual Vitality in Research on Eudaimonic Well-Being
This chapter examines a model of eudaimonic well-being (Ryff CD, J Personal Soc Psychol 57(6):1069–1081, 1989) that was built on points of convergence in multiple conceptions of optimal human functioning. Together, these perspectives are shown to be in th
- PDF / 314,370 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 504.57 x 720 pts Page_size
- 86 Downloads / 186 Views
Beautiful Ideas and the Scientific Enterprise: Sources of Intellectual Vitality in Research on Eudaimonic Well-Being Carol D. Ryff
6.1
Introduction
This chapter reviews the conceptual foundations of a model of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989) that has, over the three past decades, become the focus of extensive scientific research. The central aim is to elaborate the rich ideas – all drawn from the works of others – that guided development of this model as well as provided the foundation for its empirical translation. These vital sources include, but are not restricted to Aristotle’s timelessly insightful thoughts about eudaimonia. The other beautiful ideas in the model drew on conceptions of personal development, self-realization, and the capacity to create meaning in the face of adversity. What follows is an effort to explicate what makes these formulations compelling. Along the way, empirical findings are illustrated to underscore the critical interface between inspired ideas and subsequent scientific action. The overarching message is that great philosophical and theoretical insights and ideals are invaluable in generating meaningful new knowledge that seeks to examine their core premises and in so doing, brings intellectual beauty to empirical life.
The first section below revisits the theoretical origins of the Ryff (1989) model of well-being, focusing on the array of vital ideas, all reaching to characterize optimal human functioning, that were incorporated. The second section explicates the linkage of this model to Aristotle’s eudaimonia, a connection that was formulated later in time. The third section highlights select findings from the proliferating research that has grown up around this model of well-being. Emphasis is reviewing the scientific pursuits is again on beautiful ideas, such as the proposition that well-being may nurture salubrious health and further that it may be critical in fostering resilience vis-à-vis adversity. The fourth section briefly describes ongoing efforts to promote eudaimonic wellbeing in clinical, educational, and community contexts. The concluding message is that whatever meritorious science has grown up around this model of eudaimonic well-being, all such advances grew out of ennobling ideas aiming to articulate ideals of human functioning. The empirical research that followed is now illuminating how these elevated ideas matter for improving human lives.
C.D. Ryff (*) Institute on Aging/Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 J. Vittersø (ed.), Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being, International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3_6
95
C.D. Ryff
96
6.2
Reaching Toward a New Conception of Human Well-Being
In the 1960s and 1970s, the field of social gerontology was replete with studies life satisfaction, conceived at the time as a marker of successful aging. However, this widely measured construct had little, if any, conceptual o
Data Loading...
