Aretai Center on Virtues
9th Annual Conference - PRO-BEN Project
Human Flourishing, Psychological Well-being, and Virtue
European University of Rome, September 15-17, 2025
+++ CFP CLOSED +++
Conference website here!
Description
Well-being can be considered a fundamental objective of any living organism. For humans, it is a multifaceted concept that requires refinement across various aspects of human nature. In the philosophical tradition, the Greek term eudaimonia typically translated as flourishing, captures well-being in its ethical dimension: the meaning of a life well-lived and the actions necessary to fully express human capacities. In the psychological tradition, well-being refers to a positive state involving the balanced satisfaction of both objective and subjective needs of the individual.
Although both traditions are significant in an integrated view of existence, these two traditions are not necessarily congruent. A philosopher like Wittgenstein, for instance, could assert that he had lived a 'wonderful life', despite it being marked by psychological torment, cultural displacement, global conflict, and profound suffering. Conversely, some individuals engaged in criminal activities may exhibit high levels of psychological well-being yet fail to be considered flourishing beings: they lack key qualities of mind that would be central to any philosophical account of flourishing. Nevertheless, it would be an overstatement to suggest that the two accounts are entirely unrelated.
Scholars have long sought to elucidate the role of psychological well-being within the framework of human flourishing and to explore how the concept of human flourishing might inform the understanding of well-being examined by psychologists. Consequently, the aim of this conference is to sustain this fruitful dialogue, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between flourishing, well-being, and virtue development, while also promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
Confirmed keynote speakers:
Julia Annas
Heather Battaly
Anna Maria Petito
Francesco Sulla
Artur Szutta
Natasza Szutta
During the conference, Prof. Julia Annas will be awarded the Second Aretai Prize.
The event will also provide an opportunity to present some preliminary results from the Italian national research project PROBEN 2024-25, on the promotion of psycho-physical well-being in young people.
To accommodate as many contributions as possible, the event will be structured around both plenary and parallel sessions, with contributed papers selected through a double-blind review process. Abstracts focusing on the conference themes, from either a philosophical or a psychological perspective - or exploring the relationship between them - are welcome. Each presentation, including discussion, should not exceed 30 minutes. Abstracts of approximately 500 words (including references), prepared for blind review, should be submitted as email attachments to [email protected].
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- How can psychological accounts of well-being integrate concepts of virtue and flourishing?
- How can the different dimensions of well-being (psychological, interpersonal, physical, community, employment, and economic) contribute to fostering the ethical dimensions of flourishing and vice versa?
- Can the cultivation of virtue improve long-term psychological health?
- What is the relationship between happiness and virtue?
- Should psychological counselling practices and interventions address the ethical dimensions of flourishing?
- How can complex concepts such as flourishing and well-being be operationalized in both clinical and research settings?
- What are the philosophical foundations of well-being, and how do they intersect with empirical accounts?
- Can eudaimonia serve as a universal framework for well-being, or is it culturally contingent?
- How do different philosophical traditions (e.g., Aristotelian, Stoic, Existentialist) conceptualize flourishing and its relationship to virtue?
- Is there a tension between individual flourishing and the well-being of communities or societies?
- Given the multifaceted nature of well-being, what are the most reliable methods for assessing it across diverse populations and contexts?
- How is well-being affected by different behaviors, thought processes, and emotional arousal?
- What can generate discrepancies between how others perceive our well-being and how we perceive it ourselves?
- How is psychological well-being (as well as flourishing) affected by interventions fostering emotional regulation abilities?
- How is psychological well-being (as well as flourishing) affected by interventions contrasting maladaptive emotional regulation strategies (such as pathological addictions)?
Scientific Committee:
Sofia Bonicalzi, Riccardo Brunetti, Angelo Campodonico, Michel Croce, Mario De Caro, Mirko Garasic, Gabriele Giorgi, Marco Innamorati, Michele Mangini, Claudia Navarini, Maria Silvia Vaccarezza
Organizational Committee:
Cristina Caimi, Anna Contardi, Barbara Ciccarello, Pierre-Thomas Eckert, Federica Genova, Chiara Palazzolo, Martina Piantoni, Elena Ricci, Antonio Scoppettuolo
Important Dates:
Deadline for submissions: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED
Communication of acceptance: 05/02/2025
Accepted abstracts will be available online before the conference. For further information, please contact: [email protected]
Participation in the conference will require registration and payment of the conference fee, € 80. The fee includes registration, all coffee breaks, and lunch on the 16th.
Well-being can be considered a fundamental objective of any living organism. For humans, it is a multifaceted concept that requires refinement across various aspects of human nature. In the philosophical tradition, the Greek term eudaimonia typically translated as flourishing, captures well-being in its ethical dimension: the meaning of a life well-lived and the actions necessary to fully express human capacities. In the psychological tradition, well-being refers to a positive state involving the balanced satisfaction of both objective and subjective needs of the individual.
Although both traditions are significant in an integrated view of existence, these two traditions are not necessarily congruent. A philosopher like Wittgenstein, for instance, could assert that he had lived a 'wonderful life', despite it being marked by psychological torment, cultural displacement, global conflict, and profound suffering. Conversely, some individuals engaged in criminal activities may exhibit high levels of psychological well-being yet fail to be considered flourishing beings: they lack key qualities of mind that would be central to any philosophical account of flourishing. Nevertheless, it would be an overstatement to suggest that the two accounts are entirely unrelated.
Scholars have long sought to elucidate the role of psychological well-being within the framework of human flourishing and to explore how the concept of human flourishing might inform the understanding of well-being examined by psychologists. Consequently, the aim of this conference is to sustain this fruitful dialogue, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between flourishing, well-being, and virtue development, while also promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
Confirmed keynote speakers:
Julia Annas
Heather Battaly
Anna Maria Petito
Francesco Sulla
Artur Szutta
Natasza Szutta
During the conference, Prof. Julia Annas will be awarded the Second Aretai Prize.
The event will also provide an opportunity to present some preliminary results from the Italian national research project PROBEN 2024-25, on the promotion of psycho-physical well-being in young people.
To accommodate as many contributions as possible, the event will be structured around both plenary and parallel sessions, with contributed papers selected through a double-blind review process. Abstracts focusing on the conference themes, from either a philosophical or a psychological perspective - or exploring the relationship between them - are welcome. Each presentation, including discussion, should not exceed 30 minutes. Abstracts of approximately 500 words (including references), prepared for blind review, should be submitted as email attachments to [email protected].
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- How can psychological accounts of well-being integrate concepts of virtue and flourishing?
- How can the different dimensions of well-being (psychological, interpersonal, physical, community, employment, and economic) contribute to fostering the ethical dimensions of flourishing and vice versa?
- Can the cultivation of virtue improve long-term psychological health?
- What is the relationship between happiness and virtue?
- Should psychological counselling practices and interventions address the ethical dimensions of flourishing?
- How can complex concepts such as flourishing and well-being be operationalized in both clinical and research settings?
- What are the philosophical foundations of well-being, and how do they intersect with empirical accounts?
- Can eudaimonia serve as a universal framework for well-being, or is it culturally contingent?
- How do different philosophical traditions (e.g., Aristotelian, Stoic, Existentialist) conceptualize flourishing and its relationship to virtue?
- Is there a tension between individual flourishing and the well-being of communities or societies?
- Given the multifaceted nature of well-being, what are the most reliable methods for assessing it across diverse populations and contexts?
- How is well-being affected by different behaviors, thought processes, and emotional arousal?
- What can generate discrepancies between how others perceive our well-being and how we perceive it ourselves?
- How is psychological well-being (as well as flourishing) affected by interventions fostering emotional regulation abilities?
- How is psychological well-being (as well as flourishing) affected by interventions contrasting maladaptive emotional regulation strategies (such as pathological addictions)?
Scientific Committee:
Sofia Bonicalzi, Riccardo Brunetti, Angelo Campodonico, Michel Croce, Mario De Caro, Mirko Garasic, Gabriele Giorgi, Marco Innamorati, Michele Mangini, Claudia Navarini, Maria Silvia Vaccarezza
Organizational Committee:
Cristina Caimi, Anna Contardi, Barbara Ciccarello, Pierre-Thomas Eckert, Federica Genova, Chiara Palazzolo, Martina Piantoni, Elena Ricci, Antonio Scoppettuolo
Important Dates:
Deadline for submissions: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED
Communication of acceptance: 05/02/2025
Accepted abstracts will be available online before the conference. For further information, please contact: [email protected]
Participation in the conference will require registration and payment of the conference fee, € 80. The fee includes registration, all coffee breaks, and lunch on the 16th.
