15315-wolbert

Summary 108 dissertation sought ways to write about fragility, vulnerability, dependence, existential risks, and luck. The central question of this dissertation is; how should we think about human flourishing as an aim of education? The first part of answering the central question is discussing how we can think about flourishing as an aim of education. What does an interpretation of flourishing as an ideal, overarching aim imply? And what does flourishing as an aim of education mean? The second part of answering the central question is concerned with how we should think about human flourishing as an aim of education, in other words, what is important to take into account when construing a worthwhile theory of flourishing as an aim of education. An important consideration here is how these theories relate, and should relate, to the educational practices they describe. Therefore, throughout the chapters, current educational theories on human flourishing are evaluated in the light of their bearing on ‘real’ educational practices. It is claimed that educational theory can only be worthwhile if it has value for the educational practices it theorises about. That said, there are many ways in which educational theory can be relevant to educational practices, and it is one of the purposes of this dissertation to discuss in which ways theory on education for flourishing is best able to do so. In other words, evaluating current theories on education for flourishing by formulating a standard of practical relevance is the method chosen to be able to answer how we should think about human flourishing as an aim of education. In order to approach an answer to the central question, four research questions are formulated: • What characterises the concept of human flourishing (particularly as an ideal aim of education? • What kind of theory should theory on education for human flourishing be? • How can we understand the existential risk of parenthood in relation to (aiming for) flourishing? • What attitude should parents have towards their children’s future flourishing? Chapter 2 discussed the first research question. It is observed that human flourishing is the topic of an increasing number of books and articles in educational philosophy, and that flourishing is regarded as an ideal aim of education. If this is defended, the first step should be to clarify what is meant by human flourishing, and what exactly the concept entails and excludes. It is argued that five formal criteria to assess conceptions of human flourishing can be distinguished: (1) human flourishing is regarded as something that is intrinsically worthwhile; (2) it refers to the actualisation