Flourishing: Catholic Psychological Approaches

Abstract

Flourishing, or happiness, has become a prominent topic in contemporary psychology. It has deep roots in psychology in the United States, extending back to the “healthy-mindedness” movements of the late 19th and 20th centuries, and even deeper roots in philosophy, with Aristotle having addressed eudaimonia (which is often translated into English as flourishing or happiness) in his ethics. Typically, flourishing in psychological investigations has a secular backdrop. However, Catholic psychologists over the past century and earlier have addressed the topic, extending it to include beatitude and sanctity, with perfect happiness possible only after death, with the Beatific Vision. This article develops the formulations of flourishing by Catholic psychologists Michael Maher, Thomas Verner Moore, Joseph Nuttin, and Antoine Vergote, and the group who have published the Catholic Christian meta-model of the human person. Human flourishing has universal dimensions—some things we all must seek—and simultaneously, it is a call unique to each individual.