Human Flourishing

Each of us have a picture in our minds of what it means to flourish, what Smith calls a “social vision.” (53) The vision includes almost inherently elements of intersubjectivity; this picture then informs how we act. He states:

It’s not so much that intellectually convinced and then muster the willpower to pursue what we ought; rather, at a precognitive level, we are attracted to a visionof the good life that has been painted for us in stories and myths, images and icons. (54)

So, for Smith, the ultimate question is what shapes that vision of the good life, and how can that be modified? He calls this site of human flourishing “the kingdom.” (54-55) This “kingdom,” or picture of what it means to flourish, is constantly contested. How do we point our telos to good things?