RELI 20203 The Art and Science of Human Flourishing
What is the purpose of your education? How does it relate to creating a flourishing life, one filled with deep satisfaction, well-being, resilience, and accomplishment? What can we learn from the humanities and sciences about the varieties of human flourishing and its key ingredients, and how can you develop your own personal vision of that life? What skills and knowledge would you need to realize that vision? This course aims to assist you in finding your own answers to these questions so as to lay the foundation for flourishing during your undergraduate years, while also preparing you for a life of flourishing in personal, civic, and professional contexts. We will explore perspectives from both the humanities and sciences in ways that are directly relevant to university life, and we will engage in practices, such as mindfulness and meditation, which will help you develop the intellectual and emotional dispositions¿resilience, compassion, gratitude, and others¿that research shows are central to human flourishing.