Favorite book

What is good and why?

We’re big fans of Richard Kraut’s book, What is good and why: The Ethics of Well-Being. Kraut asks a truly Socratic question: what makes something good versus what makes something good for someone?

It’s not just wordsmithing. It’s goes the heart of our assumptions about what makes a life worth living, and what the role of our social institutions is in enabling well-being.


Given that we’re all about flourishing lives and flourishing systems, unpacking what flourishing is, for whom, and who decides is pretty darn pertinent. Kraut explores both the components of flourishing, and the conditions required for flourishing. They are different.


After examining a range of philosophical traditions – from hedonism to utilitarianism – he offers up a developmental theory of well-being. This is a theory we subscribe to. He notes that, “In the broadest possible terms, there is one ind of life that is best for all human beings – a life of flourishing, one that follows a pattern of psychological and physical growth, filled with enjoyment (p.140).”


The point of social institutions, social interactions and individual projects should be to enhance someone’s well-being or to eliminate impediments…