better self-enabling • gary e. davis • berkeley


	Area	more flourishing

	better self-enabling for better humanity we share flourishing as fulfilling enjoyment: part 2 gary e. davis	September 24, 2022

I want to bring together my various themes which emerged from reading Waterman’s overviews closely. That exemplified (I hope) sympathetic reading which evinces complementary critique, expressing an identity-in-difference—or self/[inter]personal identification—with an author/other.

In the long run, I’m prospecting how highly talented individuation might be best understood. That’s a normal focus of research on creativity and life-span-oriented modeling, which either presumes or seeks to articulate keynotes of excellent self-enabling.

However, the following is defined by emergent themes which are being convened and constellated, coherently I hope. It’s recollectively prospective.

S/s difference

A Self/self difference—e.g., feeling / understanding difference (or value/validity difference)—of oneSelf (¶5 here; ¶10 here) is very real, even though that difference as such isn’t appreciable to oneself (by articulable selfidentity) until mid-adolescence
(I surmise).

For example, a childhood sense of feeling / understanding difference—or value / validity difference—is nebulously episodic, I believe, though it improves across school-age years.

Initial understanding of the difference easily feels being “subject” to itSelf (Its affective valuing), yet is, in principle, a fruitful partnership with oneSelf, which is expressed through yielding to appealing purposes “of” being in one’s world.

Feeling holistic dispositions may become associated with life-span scales of purpose: temporally-large-scale growth of conceivability. That’s very different than near-term purposes which show cohering efficacy: focused understanding for situational goal-directedness (instrumental goals).

This S/s difference easily shows through entrancing immersion of oneself (understanding) in an engagement of feeling.

capacities in relation to capabilities

A distinction between in-born capacities and individuated capabilities is important, because aptitudes or talents are only recognized (“self-discovery,” Waterman) as one’s individuating, increasing self-efficacy, which is enjoyed.

I distinguish what’s innate (a rather moot issue) and what’s integral to self-enhancive interest. Aptitudes are not innate; they’re individuated capacities that have reached an assessable degree of efficacy.

generative appeal

The appeal of Self actualization is integral (being for the sake of “who I am”). The appeal is inspiring and leads to aspiring.

Openness to integral interest appeals for drawing oneself into—creates desire for—self-actualization of ownmost desire. Expressed intentions feel to be one’s own (i.e., selfidentical). Fulfilling enjoyment, relative to one’s potentials and feasible aspirations, expresses the value that is authenticity.

Capabilities serve an enowning of the appeal of increasing self-efficacy (validated “by” the world mirroring oneSelf), which creates fidelity to one’s idealized promise as in-and-of one’s world. Integral self-enhancive interest becomes life oriental. Given recognized capabilities, one plays with life-span-oriented purposes before settling into a prevailing preference.

It is valuable in a most-valuable way (which I’ve portrayed as ValueV). Inasmuch as orientation by such appeal prevails for preferences, then such value gains preferred authority for one’s life—life-oriental ValueV, fulfilling enjoyment relative to life-span-oriented engagement or AProject-ivity, which is integrally about the ValueV of long-term cohering which is integral to life-span-oriented selfidentity. We gain, by making our ownmost life, fulfilling enjoyment.

The enjoyment is Selfidentical, articulating the drawn selfidenticality of oneSelf as appealing engagement in one’s world—as being in one’s world.

Fulfilling enjoyment is a selfidentically valuative sense of being. It leads to desire for more fulfilling enjoyment. Ongoing generativity of one’s life shows through fulfilling near-term purposes. Fulfilling enjoyment over the years is primarily about continuous identification with appealing values, which somatic pleasure mirrors for the mental pleasure of selfidentical fulfillingness.

Loving to explore gives direction to one’s journey into mystery, where a vista is an unanticipated joy, which draws one into wanting to go beyond the next horizon. The generativity of feeling telos is enjoying the mystery of unknown consequences.

wanting excellence

Ownmost desire expresses integral interest of Self to actualize one’s potential—wholly being—excellently.

The ideal of excellence relative to some values or purposes may draw one into actualizing their life-orienting values and purposes (Purpose) well, which may be done excellently. Values and purposes are idealized as excellently actualizable.

“true self” as well-cohering S/s/[inter]personal-differential efficacy

Higher individuation (beyond normal adulthood) appreciates well that relations with others are highly variable, by relationship and, within each, by situation. True self (well-cohering S/s/[inter]personal-differential efficacy) is very attuned to that variability and very comfortable managing that (family, friends, colleagues, neighborhood, civil strangers). Yet, well-oriented interpersonal action (situational, ethical life) is essentially different from there being a well-oriented life.

living identity as singularity

General human potential just is that which can individuate singularly. Persons make identities (which don’t merely happen like the growth of flowers) which can be singular and even original.

Comprehending the living of a life—which was originally the aim of existential phenomenology, and is integral to literary art—is always singular.

pragmatic authenticity

Authentic happiness results from a realized balance (fulfilling enjoyment) of appealing (idealized) prospects for Self actualization and realistic (pragmatic) interpersonal life.

S/s difference as fruitful partnership of immersion and focus

In creative lives, immersion in flow is easy, as if I’m being played by mySelf (in flow of being).

There being high appreciability “of” the world mirrors one’s implicit—Self-expressing—capability, as if I’m borne and being “transcendentally” (which is merely a reflective—self-differential, retrospective—sense of individuated [deeply temporalized) capability formation]).

There can be feeling a distinctly prevailing sense of “soul” or “genius,” in the classical sense because focused purposiveness is simultaneous and equally important.

virtuous life

A virtuous life exemplifies admirable balance between high autonomy and appreciative interaction.

The intrinsic appeal of the values which insightful presence awakens unwittingly warrants their admirability. It is right that the generativity of a life be good, i.e., its virtue aspires to excellence of fulfilling enjoyment. A better way of life proves itself (fulfills) in the resultant appeal of its excellence of virtue thanks to the efficacy of its means (orienting values, capabilities, goals, etc).

Persons who are committed to excellence of virtue are very appealing: They prosper, teach, influence, and lead.

But a virtuous life doesn’t claim to be virtuous. That’s for others to assess.

enablative teaching

At best, teaching aims to enable high senses of individuation. Though all degrees of student talent deserve excellent teaching, that which draws highly talented students to exemplify actualization of human potential should be the standard with all degrees of talent, because a teacher never knows a student’s potential. Regarding every student as having high promise inspires engagement; and heals discouragement.

conceptualizing fulfilling enjoyment as conceptuality

To know human “nature” would be to comprehend humanity at its best, its demonstrated brightest, what some of the better humanity displays.

Flourishing expresses actualized potential of our nature which can be conceptualized, but flourishing itself isn’t based on a conception of itself—except in a sense of conceiving which brings into question what conceiving is, retrospectively, in human development, which is a matter of comprehending interests of inquiry. Theorists such as Martha Nussbaum, John McDowell, and Ruth Garrett Millikan understand conceptions to include individuated capability for comprehending.

Scientific inquiry advances its comprehension by modeling better, and thereby advancing our conceptions of comprehensibility. Scientific inquiry evolves—
in the proactive, transitive sense, as well as intransitive sense of retrospected progress. And both senses of evolving express, I think, love of conceptuality.