A good life is not achieved alone but with and for others

In the last of 12 primers on current affairs issues under the news outreach programme by The Straits Times on issues of interest to younger readers, the question of how societies might learn to embrace diverse and conflicting aspirations for a good life is discussed. 

NTU sociology professor Kwok Kian Woon questioned the broad societal parameters within which human flourishing can occur, when asked to share his views on defining a good life. Prof Kwok, who is also NTU’s associate vice-president of well-being, says that modern challenges require more urgency in discussing concerns beyond the individual, because they require collective action. He says: “There has to be a sense of deeper solidarity for human flourishing (in all its forms). We cannot merely think in terms of independence, we have to realise our inter-dependency.”

Read the article here.

Photo: Jeremy Julian / Unsplash