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Arts-of-Living

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Abstract

The term 'art-of-living' refers to capabilities for leading a good life. Since there are different views on what a good life is, there could also be a difference in the capabilities called for. In this paper I distinguish two main views on the good life: the 'virtuous' life and the 'enjoyable' life and describe variants of each. I explore what competencies are required for living such lives and conclude that these differ indeed. So there are different arts-of-living.

The set of capabilities required for leading a happy life can be identified by means of empirical research. This capability-profile comes close to the notion of 'positive mental health'.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Postbus 1738, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Ruut Veenhoven

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  1. Ruut Veenhoven
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Correspondence to Ruut Veenhoven.

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Veenhoven, R. Arts-of-Living. Journal of Happiness Studies 4, 373–384 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000005773.08898.ae

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000005773.08898.ae

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