Tourism as a Pathway to the Good Life: Comparing the Top–Down and Bottom–Up Effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 866-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Chu Chen ◽  
Sukjoon Yoon

This research examined the relationships among tourism, well-being, and novelty-seeking as a personality trait based on the top–down and bottom–up theories of well-being. A structural model that includes a direct effect of novelty-seeking on life satisfaction (top–down influence) and an indirect effect through tourism experiences (bottom–up influence) were proposed and tested using a sample of 556 American residents. Results showed that novelty-seekers were well aware of travel benefits and traveled more frequently. It was also found that the top–down influence of novelty-seeking on life satisfaction was significantly greater than the bottom–up influence. These findings highlight the crucial role of personality as a predictor of well-being as well as the importance of applying positive psychology principles to further enhance the potential contribution of tourism experiences to tourists’ well-being.

Author(s):  
Daniel M. Haybron

This chapter examines the role of authenticity in well-being, focusing on issues raised by biotechnologies like gene editing. It is argued that there are good reasons to view authenticity as an aspect of well-being, and the chapter discusses some implications of this view for gene-editing technologies. Also briefly surveyed is the philosophical literature on well-being. The chief goal is to make the case that authenticity merits serious consideration as an aspect of well-being. Even if one concludes that it has no role in the best theory of well-being, the notion of authenticity is deeply embedded in ordinary thinking about the good life and merits attention from policymakers and others if only for that reason.


Author(s):  
Zhijia Zeng ◽  
Hezhi Chen

The pursuit of hedonia and eudaimonia are two ways to fulfill the goal of a “good life”. While some studies report that both hedonic and eudaimonic motives improve well-being, others suggest that hedonic motives are counterproductive, raising the question of whether and why eudaimonic motives are more positively associated with well-being. We aimed to identify the distinct associations of hedonic and eudaimonic motives with well-being and investigate whether they are partly mediated by self-control. A total of 2882 college freshmen (1835 females, 1047 males, mean age 18.16 years) completed measures assessing hedonic and eudaimonic motives, self-control, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and eudaimonic well-being. Eudaimonic motives were associated with higher life satisfaction, more positive affect, less negative affect, and better eudaimonic well-being. In contrast, hedonic motives were positively associated with life satisfaction, while also being correlated with a greater degree of negative affect and impaired eudaimonic well-being. Self-control mediated the relationships between hedonic and eudaimonic motives and well-being. Eudaimonic and hedonic motives were positively and negatively related to self-control, respectively. Further, high self-control was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, and eudaimonic well-being and lower negative affect. Thus, eudaimonic motives can lead to a better life than hedonic motives because the former enhance self-control, while the latter lower it.


2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Miloš Bednář

Abstract Our study aims to contribute to the approach of leading an optimal life and especially to the role of sport and physical activities in this life. First, we have tried to find the optimal personal qualities which may be proper for the ars vitae (the art of life). Five of them (creativity, calculation, cooperation, concentration, and credibility) were chosen (on the empirical bases of long-time ethical seminars with students studying physical education) and annotated. This was done taking into account the practical applicability in sport. Further, we have focused on proper biodromal projects, which are based on some traditional models. We judge sport can significantly contribute to the study three of these; at the same time, they are very useful in the sphere of sport. Thus the opposites of the Dionysian and Apollonian tendency of life, and the authentic and inauthentic one, were chosen for closer analysis. The third proper model (hedonism versus asceticism) was examined in an earlier study. More attention has been paid to antagonistic and integrative models of authenticity, and our conclusion was that we ought to consider them in mixed form when periods of antagonistic authenticity are replaced with periods of integrative authenticity in real life. Concrete examples have been taken from the field of sport. Kretchmar’s structural model of the good life is connected with this field more firmly and has been critically examined in the last chapter. In conclusion, we name four conditions for the creation of optimal biodromal projects and for forming the real ars vitae.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-513
Author(s):  
Holmer Steinfath

Time is a neglected subject in recent, especially analytically minded reflections on the good life. The article highlights the fundamental role of time and temporality for an adequate understanding of the good life. Time functions both as an external factor with which we have to reckon in our practical deliberations and as an internal structure of living our lives. It is argued that striving for a good life also means striving for being in harmony with the time of one's life. The exploration of this idea allows to link analytical with phenomenological approaches to time and good life.


Author(s):  
Christie Hartley

This chapter critically engages with the “sex work” approach to prostitution and argues that treating “sex work” like any other form of work is neither possible nor compatible with valuing the freedom and equality of women as citizens. Liberals often claim, erroneously, that liberalism’s commitment to a kind of neutrality among competing conceptions of the good life and its commitment to antipaternalism requires either decriminalization or legalization of prostitution. While arguments that rest on a particular conception of the “good” of sex or of the role of sex in a broader conception of the good are illegitimate grounds for state policy, it is argued that there are, nonetheless, good public reason arguments against decriminalization or legalization of prostitution. A defense of the Nordic model is offered.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 615-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary J. Lewis ◽  
Ryota Kanai ◽  
Geraint Rees ◽  
Timothy C. Bates

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-316
Author(s):  
Holly McCartney Chalk ◽  
Christopher P. Barlett ◽  
Natalie D. Barlett

Research suggests that emerging adults (EAs) with a disabling impairment experience poor psychosocial outcomes and delayed markers of adulthood. Given the numbers of EA with a disabling impairment who do not self-identify as having a disability, we examine a multigroup structural model of positive disability identity based on disability self-identification. Participants ( n = 2,016) completed assessments of positive disability identity, psychosocial outcomes, and markers of adulthood. Most participants with a disabling impairment did not self-identify as having a disability (68%). Positive disability identity, maintaining a positive view of disability, was associated with increased life satisfaction, regardless of whether EA self-identify as having a disability. Exploratory analyses suggest that EA with psychiatric disabilities experience the most negative psychosocial outcomes. Findings suggest that maintaining a positive view of disability is associated with favorable outcomes. However, intervention with EA who do not self-identify is challenging, as they may not seek support services.


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