Studies on subjective well-being derive from two main perspectives:
hedonism and eudaimonism. The former emphasizes human search for
pleasure and satisfaction The latter stems from Aristotle's concept of
eudaimonia as the fulfilment of one's true nature, that includes both
self-actualization and commitment to socially shared goals. The
framework adopted in this book belongs to the eudaimonic approach, and
it is grounded in the scientific tradition of bio-cultural studies.
Most researchers agree that humans are living systems equipped with
biological and cultural features. Theoretical approaches however differ
in their emphasis on the role and relevance of biology and culture in
influencing human behavior. In particular, the impact of culture and
social norms on individual behavior and quality of life can hardly be
overestimated. Day by day, people acquire cultural information from
their social contexts by means of various forms of learning, and they
subsequently replicate and transmit it. These cultural constraints can
be used as objective indicators to evaluate quality of life and
well-being, but they are not sufficient to grasp the real life
conditions of an individual. This book introduces a third perspective in
this debate: it emphasizes the role of individuals as active agents in
shaping their cultural environment and in promoting both their own
development and culture complexity.
Each person within her culture has a more or less wide extent of
autonomy and freedom in facing challenges and in discovering
opportunities in daily activities, in interpreting life events and in
setting self-selected goals. Far from simply being recipients and
vehicles of cultural information, human beings actively take part in the
process of cultural transmission and change. A process of psychological
selection takes place at the individual level, promoting the
differential reproduction of cultural information units. A great number
of cross-cultural studies have been conducted, in order to detect the
basic criterion which guides this process. Results show the paramount
role played by the quality of experience people associate with their
daily activities and social contexts. In particular, individuals
preferentially select and cultivate activities connected with optimal
experience, or Flow, in which individuals describe themselves as active
and deeply involved in the task at hand, excited and relaxed at the same
time. In optimal experience people perceive high challenges in the
activity, and adequate personal skills in facing them. They report
engagement, activation, enjoyment, and autonomy.
However, provided that individuals play a central role in the process of
cultural transmission and change, they should be supported in finding in
meaningful and socially relevant challenges. From childhood, citizens
should be exposed to opportunities for engagement, enjoyment and optimal
experiences in socially useful activities. They should be taught to
appreciate the development potential embedded in agency and co-operation
towards community objectives. Intrinsic motivation and the autonomous
search for meanings and goals should be sustained. The individual effort
and ability to find a personalized way toward well-being and complexity
have to be primarily supported. At the social level, the individual
tendency to pursue self-selected goals and personal wellbeing could be
channelled to foster at the same time co-operation and community
empowerment.
In this historical period it is of paramount importance for positive
psychology to contextualize the study of individual well-being within
the broader perspective of social empowerment and cultures' cooperation.
Following the long tradition initiated by Aristotle with his studies on
virtues and ethics, we strongly believe in the human potential to match
the pursuit of optimal experiences and personal wellbeing with agency
and the active contribution to the empowerment of societies.
