Joar Vittersø is a professor of psychology at the University of Tromsø, Norway. He holds a Master¿s degree in social anthropology and a Ph.D. in social psychology, both from the University of Oslo. Author of more than 60 scientific journal articles and book chapters, Dr. Vittersø primarily conducts research on well-being, positive emotions and other elements of a good life.

Is a timely compilation of current research about "homo eudaimonicus"

Ties in with OECD guidelines on measuring subjective well-being

Meets increasing interest in the topic among researchers, decision makers and in public debates ?

1. The Most Important Idea in the World: An Introduction; Joar Vittersø.- PART I. Philosophical Eudaimonism.- 2. The Philosophical Basis of Eudaimonic Psychology; Dan Haybron.- 3. Ethics and Eudaimonic Wellbeing; Johannes Hirata.- 4. Aristotle on Eudaimonia: On the Virtue of Returning to the Source; Blaine Fowers.- 5. Conceptual Challenges for a Science of Eudaimonic Wellbeing; Lorraine Besser.- PART II. Identifying the Elements of Psychological Eudaimonics.- 6. Beautiful Ideas and the Scientific Enterprise: Sources of Intellectual Vitality in Research on Eudaimonic Well-Being; Carol Ryff.- 7. Eudaimonia as a Way of Living: Connecting Aristotle with Self-Determination Theory; Richard Ryan and Frank Martela.- 8. Internal Motivation, Instrumental Motivation, and Eudaimonia; Barry Schwartz and Amy Wrzesniewski.- 9. Eudaimonia and Wisdom; Alan Law and Ursula Staudinger.- 10. Eudaimonic Growth: The Development of the Goods in Personhood (or: Cultivating a Good Life Story); Jack Bauer.- 11. Hedonia, Eudaimonia, and Meaning: Me versus Us; Fleeting versus Enduring; Michael F. Steger.- 12. The Eudaimonics of Positive Emotions; Barbara Fredrickson.- 13. On the Synergy between Hedonia and Eudaimonia: The Role of Passion; Bob Vallerand.- 14. The Eudaimonics of Self-Actualization; Rebecca J. Schlegel, Joshua Hicks and Andrew Christy.- 15. Eudaimonic and Hedonic Orientations: Theoretical Considerations and Research Findings; Veronika Huta.- 16. Genes, Environments and Core Features of Eudaimonic Wellbeing; Espen Røysamb and Ragnhild Bang Nes.- 17. The Feeling of Excellent Functioning: Hedonic and Eudaimonic Emotions; Joar Vittersø.- 18. Measuring Eudaimonic Wellbeing; Carmel Proctor and Roger Tweed.- PART III. Living Eudaimonically.- 19. Well-Doing: Personal Projects and the Social Ecology of Flourishing; Brian Little.- 20. The Eudaimonics of Human Strengths: The Relations Between Character Strengths and Well-Being; Claudia Harzer.- 21. The Mind of the "Happy Warrior": Eudaimonia, Awe, and the Search for Meaning in Life; Alexander Danvers, Makenzie O'Neil and Michelle Shiota.- 22. The Eudaimonia of Heroism: Sublime Actualization through the Embodiment of Virtue; Zeno Franco, Olivia Efthimiou and Philip G. Zimbardo.- 23. Health and Eudaimonic Wellbeing: Exploring the Promise of Positive Well-Being and Healthier Living; Jay Kimiecik.- 24. Eudaimonia, Aging, and Health: A Review of Underlying Mechanisms; Anthony Ong and Alicia Patterson.- 25.Wholeness and Holiness: The Spiritual Dimension of Eudaimonics; Kenneth Pargament, Serena Wong and Julie Exline.- 26. Positive Interventions that Erode the Hedonic and Eudaimonic Divide to Promote Lasting Happiness; Dianne Vella-Brodrick.- PART IV. Eudaimonia and the Society.- 27. Eudaimonia and Culture: The Anthropology of Virtue; Francis Mckay.- 28. Eudaimonic Wellbeing: A Gendered Perspective; Leah Ferguson and Katie Gunnell.- 29. Sentimental Hedonism: Pleasure, Purpose, and Public PolicyPaul Dolan and Laura Kudrna.- 30. The Eudaimonics of Education; Hans Henrik Knoop.- 31. Developing Well-Being and Capabilities As a Goal of Higher Education: A Thought-Piece on Educating the Whole Student; Eranda Jayawickreme and Sara Dahill-Brown.- 32. Developing a Eudaimonia Research Agenda in Travel and Tourism; M. Joseph Sirgy and Muzaffer Uysal.- 33.Hedonism, Eudaimonia, and the Serious Leisure Perspective; Robert A. Stebbins.- 34. Eudaimonia and "Species Being": a Marxist Perspective; Hartley Dean.- PART V. Against Eudaimonia.- 35. Socrates Dissatisfaction, A Happiness Arms Race, And the Trouble with Eudaimonic Well-being; Sarah J. Ward and Laura King.- 36. Putting Eudaimonia in its Place (On the Predictor, not the Outcome, Side of the Equation); Kennon M. Sheldon.- 37. Social Planning Without Bentham or Aristotle: Towards Dignified and Socially Engaged Wellbeing; Neil Thin.- Epilogue.- 38. The Future of Eudaimonic Well-Being: Subjectivism, Objectivism and the Lump Under the Carpet; Valerie Tiberius.