Flourishing in the Flesh

Abstract The conditions of human flourishing transcend those of mere survival and fitness, yet they are built upon and recruit those conditions of human biological well-being. In this sense, flourishing is rooted deeply in embodiment. Antonio Damasio argues that the fundamental value for organic life is homeostasis—the maintenance of a suitable dynamic equilibrium within the boundaries of the organism as it interacts with its physical, interpersonal, and cultural environments. This chapter investigates the issue of how far the notion of homeostasis can be taken as the supreme value underlying human flourishing at four levels of functional organization and complexity: (1) biological functioning, (2) interpersonal relations, (3) communal practices and institutions, and (4) the quest for lives that are meaningful and significant.