What is the measure of a good life, and a good society? In this time of reflection and resolution with the new calendar year, our guest presenter will draw connections between the evolution of the concept of human welfare and our living UU tradition. Development used to be measured by how much ‘stuff’ we have – but with the introduction of their ‘capability approach’, moral philosophers Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum expanded our understanding of wellbeing to include so much more – measures of health, happiness, education, political rights, and more. In creating a framework for understanding the multi-faceted nature of wellbeing, they centered the lived experience of substantive freedoms.
Dr. Andrea Hamre is a researcher at Montana State University who focuses on sustainable transportation policy and planning, and her dissertation focused on the theory of transport justice developed by Karel Martens, which was rooted in the ‘capability approach’. In this presentation, she will share insights that the ‘capability approach’ to human welfare might offer for our resolution to live with intention in the new year and manifest the Principles we share as individuals and members of a greater local and global community.