ISQOLS Webinar, "Human Flourishing and the Global Flourishing Study"

ISQOLS Webinar,

"Human Flourishing and the Global Flourishing Study"

Presenter: Dr. Tyler J. VanderWeele

Thursday, 11 December

10:00 am EST/4:00 pm CET

Many empirical studies throughout the social and biomedical sciences and many policy discussions focus only on very narrow outcomes such as income, or a single specific disease state, or measures of feeling happy. Human flourishing, however, consists in a much broader range of states and outcomes. Flourishing might be understood as the relative attainment a state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good including, but not limited to, happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. The empirical literature from experimental, longitudinal, and quasi-experimental studies is reviewed in attempt to identify major determinants of, and resources for, human flourishing. A new major research and data collection undertaking – the Global Flourishing Study – will be described consisting of longitudinal data on over 200,000 individuals from 22 countries, representing about half of the world’s populations, with nationally representative samples and annual data collection. Initial insights from the study will be presented and the data will hopefully over time dramatically advance our understanding of, and efforts to promote, human flourishing.