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What does it mean to live a good life? People have pondered this question for millennia. Lately, social scientists have focused on the idea of flourishing. Three members of the Global Flourishing Study research team describe it “not simply as happiness or success, but as a multidimensional state of well-being that involves positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment.” It’s about becoming whole.
The international collaboration recently published its first batch of findings based on interviews with more than 200,000 people in 22 countries around the world. The goal was to see who was flourishing the most, on average, and to try to pick apart the factors that were contributing.
Young people in a number of countries are struggling more than they have in the past. People who attend frequent religious services are flourishing more than those who don’t. People in richer countries aren’t necessarily flourishing more than others. Check out the chart ranking countries by their average flourishing score for a few surprises. Spoiler: poor Japan.
Also in this week’s science news:
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Flourishing is about your whole life being good, including the people and places around you.
Westend61 via Getty Images
Victor Counted, Regent University; Byron R. Johnson, Baylor University; Tyler J. VanderWeele, Harvard University
A global study seeks insights into what helps people feel happy, healthy and satisfied – and what holds them back.
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Tatooine’s moisture farming equipment stands in the desert of Tunisia, where parts of the ‘Star Wars’ movie series were filmed.
Véronique Debord-Lazaro via Flickr
Daniel B. Oerther, Missouri University of Science and Technology; William Schonberg, Missouri University of Science and Technology
There are elements of these ancient, distant George Lucas stories that might seem like science fiction but are, in fact, science reality.
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Measles is one of the most infectious diseases on the planet.
Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
Rebecca Schein, Michigan State University
The US eliminated measles in 2000, but the number of cases at home and abroad has experts worried.
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