Personal development and happiness". The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE) wrote "Nicomachean Ethics", in which he defined personal development as a category of phronesis or practical wisdom, where the practice of virtues ("arête") leads to "eudaimonia", commonly translated as "happiness" but more accurately understood as "human flourishing" or "living well". Aristotle continues to influence the Western concept of personal development , particularly in the economics of human development and in positive psychology. In Chinese tradition, Confucius (around 551 BCE – 479 BCE) founded an ongoing philosophy. His ideas continue to influence family values, education and management in China and
A Syntopicon: An Index to The Great Ideas A Syntopicon: An Index to The Great Ideas A Syntopicon: An Index to The Great Ideas (1952) is a two-volume index, published as volumes 2 and 3 of Encyclopædia Britannica’s collection "Great Books of the Western World". Compiled by Mortimer Adler, an American philosopher, under the guidance of Robert Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, the volumes were billed as a collection of the 102 great ideas of the western canon. The term “syntopicon” was coined specifically for this undertaking, meaning “a collection of topics.” The volumes catalogued what Adler and his team deemed to be the fundamental ideas