Hadi Samadi's Lectures on Flourishing and Living Well

A Series of Talks Titled "Flourishing and Living Well"

Hosted by the Doxa Cultural Institute

Held at the Book Garden

Speaker: Hadi Samadi (Researcher in Evolutionary Philosophy, Faculty Member at the Science and Research University)

At the onset of the COVID pandemic, the market for predictions about the future of the world was very heated. Over the past two months, with the public availability of forms of artificial intelligence, speculations about the world's future have once again found a hot market.

What will living well in the world ahead look like, and how does one step onto the path of flourishing? In response, we must first see in which direction the indicators affecting human well-being are moving: improving or worsening?

Over the past three centuries, the question of whether the world is moving toward betterment or worsening has been solely a question for philosophers. But in recent years, scientists like Pinker have also entered the discussion, claiming that human well-being has increased over the past centuries.

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Session One | How Can Science Speak About Living Well?

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In the first session, we will initially discuss how one should speak about global trends in well-being and what the role of empirical data and philosophical theories is in this domain.

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Session Two | An Evolutionary-Aristotelian Reading of Human Flourishing

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Topic: How can one, in alignment with an Aristotelian understanding of flourishing, have an evolutionary reading of human flourishing and living well that does not carry the flaws of "Social Darwinism"? In answering this question, we will see how, during the process of human evolution, the "feeling of free will" formed to provide us with the capacity to transcend biological and social determinisms. And why any reading of human flourishing that ignores the values of "freedom" and "justice" will not lead to a better life for humans.

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Session Three | What Advice Does Psychotherapy Have for the 'Typical Human'?

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A psychotherapist is someone who helps the client identify and then change habits (behaviors, emotions, or thoughts) that are unpleasant: eliminate some entirely, adapt to others, or cultivate pleasant habits within themselves.

This brief description clarifies why psychotherapy has captured the public's attention: because we live in a world where everyone wants to live more happily.

Psychotherapists employ a wide variety of techniques in this endeavor, some of which are only prescribable for specific patients. Nevertheless, we witness certain general recommendations being offered by non-specialists to everyone in public sessions; recommendations that may even be dangerous for some individuals to follow.

A large category of non-specialist advice from so-called "motivational" speakers, which invites the individual to turn inward, although it may be effective for some specific patients, is certainly ineffective as general advice. These narcotic recommendations increasingly reduce the individual's connection with their surrounding environment.

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Session Four | Cognitive Flexibility and the Social Dimensions of Flourishing; The Transition from Disability to Diversability

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First, a defense is made of this claim: "A blind individual living in a deprived village in Africa is not disabled in the same sense as a similar individual with the same degree of eye damage who lives in Tokyo." An individual living in Tokyo who, thanks to the facilities society has provided, has been able to cultivate their capabilities in such a way as to be an active citizen, can be called "diversable" and not "disabled."

If we demonstrate that the concept of disability is environment-dependent, we have shown that the concept of disability can be altered by changing the environment. We will utilize this point in the discussion of the flourishing of capabilities in all humans, and we will speak of the economics and politics of happiness, introducing the primary duty of governments as increasing the flourishing of the people in society.

We will also point out that flourishing and living well require suitable environmental conditions, and "freedom of choice" and "social justice" are at the forefront of such conditions.

If flourishing is dependent on conditions, we must take a special look at environmental changes and monitor the effects of changes such as global warming, increasing automation, and the expansion of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (including the spread of artificial intelligence) on human flourishing.

We will speak of the growing need for "soft skills." Under such conditions, how can "cognitive flexibility" be increased, and what are its effects on people's well-being?

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This series of sessions will continue, and participation is free and open to those over 19.

Attendance Request Form | Instagram Address | Telegram Channel

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