Well-Being
University of Nottingham, U.K., July 19-21, 2012
The 6th annual conference of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry
Keynote Speakers
Mary Midgley
John Milbank
Greg Currie
The idea of ‘well-being’ has been in the news media in the UK quite a lot of late, and it lies close to the heart of the thinking and policies of the current ‘Con-Dem’ Government, as is evidenced by the speeches and writings of Prime Minister David Cameron. It can be connected to the idea of ‘the big society.’ This has become controversial recently, as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of the UK recently made a commitment to fund research which explores this idea and has, in consequence, been accused of bias/partiality in favour of government sponsored, ‘ideologically driven’ research projects. The thinking behind this initiative is also associated with the work of Richard Layard at the London School of Economics and with the British ‘think-tank,’ The Social Market Foundation. The idea behind the conference is to explore the notion of well-being, both in theory and in practice (policy). More specifically, it is hoped that papers will engage critically with some of the current thinking about well-being and its policy implications from the standpoint of Alasdair MacIntyre and/or Aristotelian practical philosophy, a core concept for which is that of eudaimonia, variously translated as ‘happiness,’ ‘flourishing’ or ‘well-being.’ Contributions might also engage with the ideas of other contemporary Aristotelian thinkers, for example the ‘capabilities approach’ of Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen. It is not envisaged that all of the papers presented at the conference will address this theme and contributions devoted to other aspects of the work of Alasdair MacIntyre are, as always, most welcome.
Co-organized with the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) and the Centre for Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP).