scholarly journals Education for a good life: tracing how Sumak Kawsay and Sufficiency Economy became ideals for living well

10.33177/6.4 ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 69-90
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Good Living ◽  
Good For ◽  
Sumak Kawsay

Both Sumak Kawsay (SK) in Ecuador and Sufficiency Economy (SE) in Thailand are stories of virtue, identity and progress that bring about an ideal citizen and lifestyle claimed to be good for all, but which are in fact problematic and dangerous for many. These notions arose in political and educational discourses as a promise to “rescue” “indigenous” values; to make possible ways of good-living better suited for each of these countries than “Western” notions of well-being. It is problematic that in trying to make the idea of progress “indigenous” these proposals (re)inscribe particular historically transmitted ideas of who an ideal citizen is, and a lifestyle which makes deviant “kinds” of people who have to be “cured” through education. This paper will argue that SK and SE in education are ways of organizing the behavior of people through stories of virtue. It will also argue that these stories shape and are shaped by their intersection with the traveling and translation of ideas of progress. The paper will look into particular historical events to analyze what categories and notions of progress make SK and SE possible.

Human Flourishing Versus Desire Satisfaction

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Arneson
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surprising Result ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Prudential Value ◽  
Desire Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Good ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Good For

What is the good for human persons? If I am trying to lead the best possible life I could lead, not the morally best life, but the life that is best for me, what exactly am I seeking?This phrasing of the question I will be pursuing may sound tendentious, so some explanation is needed. What is good for one person, we ordinarily suppose, can conflict with what is good for other persons and with what is required by morality. A prudent person seeks her own good efficiently; she selects the best available means to her good. If we call the value that a person seeks when she is being prudent “prudential value,” then an alternative rendering of the question to be addressed in this essay is “What is prudential value?” We can also say that an individual flourishes or has a life high in well-being when her life is high in prudential value. Of course, these common-sense appearances that the good for an individual, the good for other persons, and the requirements of morality often are in conflict might be deceiving. For all that I have said here, the correct theory of individual good might yield the result that sacrificing oneself for the sake of other people or for the sake of a morally worthy cause can never occur, because helping others and being moral always maximize one's own good. But this would be the surprising result of a theory, not something we should presuppose at the start of inquiry. When a friend has a baby and I express a conventional wish that the child have a good life, I mean a life that is good for the child, not a life that merely helps others or merely respects the constraints of morality. After all, a life that is altruistic and perfectly moral, we suppose, could be a life that is pure hell for the person who lives it—a succession of horrible headaches marked by no achievements or attainments of anything worthwhile and ending in agonizing death at a young age. So the question remains, what constitutes a life that is good for the person who is living it?

An Analysis of Prudential Value

Utilitas ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN M. CAMPBELL
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Prudential Value ◽  
Good For ◽  
The Relationship

This essay introduces and defends a new analysis of prudential value. According to this analysis, what it is for something to be good for you is for that thing to contribute to the appeal or desirability of being in your position. I argue that this proposal fits well with our ways of talking about prudential value and well-being; enables promising analyses of luck, selfishness, self-sacrifice and paternalism; preserves the relationship between prudential value and the attitudes of concern, love, pity and envy; and satisfies various other desiderata. I also highlight two ways in which the analysis is informative and can lead to progress in our substantive theorizing about the good life.

Teach the Children Well

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-760
Author(s):  
Michelle Mason
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Ethical Virtue ◽  
Good For

What connection is there between living well, in the sense of living a life of ethical virtue, and faring well, in the sense of living a life good for the agent whose life it is? Defenses of a connection between exercising the virtues and living a good life often display two commitments: first, to addressing their answer to the person whose life is in question and, second, to showing that virtue is what I call a reliability conferring property. I challenge both commitments. I propose we take up the question from the dialogical point of view implicit in contexts where one person (an “ethical trustee”) is charged with the care of the character of another (an “ethical trustor”) and argue that virtue is what I call a status conferring property. Ethical trustees benefit their trustors by inculcating the virtues because in doing so they bestow on them a status that is necessary for a good life.

Well-Being

Life's Values ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 71-115
Author(s):  
Alan H. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Successful Theory ◽  
Desire Satisfaction ◽  
Personal Value ◽  
Good For ◽  
The Individual

Well-being is what makes life valuable or good for the individual whose life it is. It is the all-inclusive category of personal value. This chapter evaluates the leading accounts: hedonism (pleasure is the measure of well-being), perfectionism (development of human capacities is the measure), objective lists (numerous objective goods make up a good life), and desire satisfaction. Fatal objections are raised to the first three, and an idealized desire satisfaction account is defended against objections typically raised by others to this kind of theory. The successful theory must capture our concept, unify and explain why various things are good for individual persons, and show why we are rationally motivated to pursue well-being.

Ecocritique and Anecdote

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-48
Author(s):  
Sean Cubitt
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Living Well ◽  
The World ◽  
Central Notion

Section 1 starts by considering the central notion of this book: a “ecocritique”. The ecocritique recognises that the good life for all includes the well-being of the world we are involved in at every level from the cellular to the cosmic. It is all encompassing. Section 1 then considers how the term “anecdote” relates to ecocritique. Anecdotes provide a peculiarly powerful tool for finding out the meaning of living well, as well as the answering the oft-asked question: who is this “we”? The beauty of anecdotes is that they operate in a non-contemporaneous time. They operate equally well in the past, present, and future. A primary political and ecocritical task of anecdotal method, therefore, is to recognise this hybrid temporality, and to free and maintain its capacity to generate new futures and new pasts.

God, the Good Life, and Pastoral Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-459
Author(s):  
Thomas (Tae Sung) Shin
Keyword(s):  
Practical Theology ◽  
Pastoral Theology ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Pastoral Practice

In this study, I emphasize that pastoral practice revitalizes the significance of spiritual life as an alternative way to negotiate the science of well-being. This article is written from the perspective of practical theology, which is framed as a way of “living well” in which it is doubtful for both the individual and community to fulfill the good life without spirituality. Such an approach entails a degree of a transformative and transcendent life created by new senses, attentions, knowledge, ontological understanding, and disciplines out of the experience of the triune God. This study responds to the vocation of practical theology according to Ruard Ganzevoort and Johan Roeland, who assert that, “In its focus on praxis, practical theology has evolved out of three historical different styles of theology with differing concepts of and methodological approaches toward praxis: pastoral theology, empirical theology, and public theology.” They suggest that pastoral practice should be something that contributes to the culture of well-being and that the roles of spiritual life in the formation and reformation of the good life should be clarified.

scholarly journals Public policies toward sustainable communities: the last chance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Hidalgo-Oñate
Keyword(s):  
Economic Model ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Solidarity Economy ◽  
Good Living ◽  
Sumak Kawsay ◽  
Implementation Stage

The capitalist economic model is unsustainable because far from producing an increase in the well-being of the population, it has intensified environmental and social problems. The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador includes some approaches when claiming the "sumak kawsay" or "good living", which grants rights to nature and considers a form of social and solidarity economy. Some of the approaches of groups that demand social change are accepted, which would improve government management in the design, implementation, and evaluation stages of public policies. Regarding the implementation stage, the scope is to analyze and present a proposal for public environmental, health, and education policies, which would allow us to overcome the crisis. Finally, it seeks to contribute to the discussion around post-development, that is, the viability of sustainable communities that allow supporting the theory of local development and specifically the “sumak kawsay” or “good living” adopted by Ecuador.

scholarly journals Semillas y caminos para la educación latinoamericana en tiempos de incertidumbre

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Carlos Crespo Burgos
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Buen Vivir ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Good Living ◽  
Sumak Kawsay ◽  
America Latina ◽  
Educational Movements

En América Latina vivimos un quiebre en las tendencias de los procesos políticos y sociales de cambio que venían desenvolviéndose en la primera década y media del presente siglo. En este contexto de incertidumbre, las sociedades se encuentran en la encrucijada ante las vías posibles que se abren a la educación: ¿igualdad, inclusión o competitividad para el mercado? Este artículo pasa revista por algunas importantes resignifi caciones planteadas a la educación en las últimas décadas por diversos movimientos sociales y educativos en América Latina, en el escenario de transformaciones sociales y políticas en que algunos Estados contribuyeron a la revitalización de la educación pública como un derecho humano. Nuevas generaciones exigen la educación como derecho y no quieren más educación como lucro. Pueblos indígenas proponen otros sentidos de la educación dentro del paradigma del Buen Vivir (Sumak Kawsay) o Vivir Bien (Suma Qamaña), buscan posicionar un nuevo signifi cado de la vida, en el horizonte de una nueva espiritualidad y convivencia. Estas alternativas ofrecen señales de posibles caminos frente al oscurecimiento humano que presenciamos actualmente.Palabras clave: Sentidos de la educación. Alternativas al desarrollo. Pertinencia cultural. Sementes e estradas para a educação latino-americana em tempos de incertezaRESUMONa América Latina vivemos uma ruptura nas tendências dos processos políticos e sociais de mudança que se desdobraram na primeira década e meia deste século. Nesse contexto de incerteza, as sociedades estão na encruzilhada diante de possíveis caminhos abertos à educação: igualdade, inclusão ou competitividade para o mercado? Este artigo analisa algumas ressignificações importantes da educação nas últimas décadas por diversos movimentos sociais e educacionais da América Latina, no cenário de transformações sociais e políticas em que alguns Estados contribuíram para a revitalização da educação pública como direito humano. As novas gerações exigem educação como um direito e não querem mais educação como lucro. Os povos indígenas propõem outras formas de educação dentro do paradigma do bem viver (Sumak Kawsay) ou segundo Living Well (Suma Qamaña) buscar um novo sentido da vida, no horizonte de uma nova espiritualidade e convívio. Essas alternativas oferecem sinais de possíveis caminhos contrários ao obscurecimento humano que estamos testemunhando atualmente.Palavras-chave: Sentidos da educação. Alternativas ao desenvolvimento. Relevância cultural. Seeds and roads for Latin American education in times of uncertaintyABSTRACTIn Latin America we have lived a break in the trends of the political and social processes of change that had been unfolding in the fi rst decade and a half of this century. In this context of uncertainty, societies are at the crossroads before the possible paths open to education: equality, inclusion or competitiveness for the market? This article reviews some important resignifi cations of education in recent decades by various social and educational movements in Latin America, in the scenario of social and political transformations where some States contributed to the revitalization of public education as a human right. New generations demand education as a right, they do not want more education as a profi t. Indigenous peoples propose other meanings of education within the paradigm of Good Living (Sumak Kawsay) or Living Well (Suma Qamaña), seeking to position a new meaning of life, on the horizon of a new spirituality and coexistence. These alternatives off er signs of possible paths against the human obscuration that we are witnessing today.Keywords: Senses of education. Alternatives to development. Cultural relevance.

Darwall on Rational Care

Utilitas ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSEPH RAZ
Keyword(s):  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
List Type ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Good For

Stephen Darwall's understanding of what kind of life is a good life, good for the person whose life it is, belongs in the same family as, among others, Scanlon's and mine. It is a family of views about well-being which descends from Aristotle, and Darwall has much of interest to say about the good life, and particularly about Aristotle's views on the subject. Many of the observations central to his position seem to me cogent, and are shared by other writers. These include three important propositions: that a good life, one which is good for those whose life it is, is not necessarily the same as a life which they think is good for them, nor does it necessarily consist in their desires being satisfied, nor in the satisfaction of any subset of their desires (e.g. their considered desires, or those not based on any false assumptions).that people aim or intend to do what is worth doing, to have relationships worth having, and engage in goals worth pursuing, and so on, and that all of these, and their combination, are distinct from having a good life (and this explains how people can knowingly sacrifice their own good), andthat what makes the well-being of people worth pursuing, to the extent that it is, what provides reasons for those same people and for others to protect or promote it, is that people are valuable in themselves.

What is Sumak Kawsay? A Qualitative Study in the Ecuadorian Amazon

2021 ◽  
pp. 0094582X2110049
Author(s):  
Carmen Amelia Coral-Guerrero ◽  
Fernando García-Quero ◽  
Jorge Guardiola
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Buen Vivir ◽  
Living Well ◽  
Ancestral Knowledge ◽  
Ecuadorian Amazon ◽  
Sumak Kawsay ◽  
Local Discourses

A qualitative study of the main characteristics of sumak kawsay ( buen vivir, living well/good life) in the Ecuadorian Amazon shows that it has four constitutive elements of which a multitude of interpretations coexist: an indigenous and nature-focused worldview, community, an economy based on solidarity, and ancestral knowledge. Understandings of sumak kawsay are rooted in the practices and beliefs of the communities interviewed rather than in theoretical constructions of idyllic community forms, and in this connection differences can be observed between the academic “indigenist” view of it and local discourses. Una aproximación cualitativa a las características principales del sumak kawsay ( buen vivir, living well/good life) en la Amazonía ecuatoriana muestran la existencia de cuatro elementos constitutivos del sumak kawsay en los que colindan multitud de interpretaciones: cosmovisión indígena y naturaleza, comunidad, economía solidaria, y conocimiento ancestral. Las comprensiones del sumak kawsay enraízan con prácticas y creencias de las personas y no con construcciones teóricas de formas comunitarias idílicas, y al respecto, apreciamos diferencias entre la visión académica “indigenista” del sumak kawsay y los discursos locales.

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