Past Conferences

The subject of love is central to the Program’s research on well-being and flourishing. It is part of “The Construct and Assessment of Love” grant funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Our hope with the “Kierkegaard and Love Workshop” is to explore Kierkegaard’s rich insights on themes concerning love in his thought and beyond. We are especially interested in receiving submissions that explore the unitive and contributory aspects of love. When we speak of the unitive aspect of love we have in mind that dimension of love that seeks unity of some kind with the beloved. When we speak of the contributory aspect of love we have in mind that dimension of love that seeks to contribute to the good of the beloved in some way and for the beloved’s own sake.

Visit the workshop website under this link                  

In April, 2019, the Human Flourishing Program hosted an interdisciplinary conference on the Meaning of Life in the Tsai Auditorium on Harvard's campus. The conference featured over 200 attendees and a distinguished list of international speakers. As a result of the conference, the Human Flourishing program has launched a new comprehensive measure of meaning and purpose in life. 

Conference Presenters
Conference presenters included Roy Baumeister, Thaddeus Metz, Crystal Park, Michael Steger, Samantha Heintzelman, Frank Martela, Joshua Hicks, Joshua Seachris, Jeffrey Hanson, and Charles Taliaferro.

Interdisciplinary Workshop on Happiness, Well-Being and Measurement

Dates: April 5-6, 2018
The Human Flourishing Program, in conjunction with the Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, hosted an interdisciplinary workshop on the topic of well-being measurement. Rather than focusing on the eudaimonic versus hedonic measurement debates of the past, the conference participants focused principally on how best to provide thoughtful guidance on ways that approaches to measurement might vary by context: e.g., government surveys vs. psychology well-being studies vs. an employer vs. large public health cohorts. Participants also discussed how to make progress in knowledge in the face of the proliferation of measures. In addition to sessions being led by leading sociologists and psychologists, the conference included panels led by philosophers and theologians on the ways that perspectives from these disciplines can inform well-being measurement.

Workshop Presenters
Workshop presenters included Paul Allin, Anne Baril, Colin Farrelly, Guy Fletcher, Corey Keyes, Matt Killingsworth, William Lauinger, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Seth Margolis, Neil Messer, Susanna Rinard, Carol Ryff, Louis Tay, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Tyler VanderWeele,  and Mark Wynn.

Interdisciplinary Conference on Suffering

Date: January 3-6, 2017

The Human Flourishing Program hosted an interdisciplinary conference on suffering in Rome, Italy. The conference brought together philosophers, theologians, clinicians, and empirical researchers on the topic of suffering. The conference papers will be published in an edited volume.

Symposium on Religion and Health

Date: December 2, 2016

The Human Flourishing Program hosted a one-day symposium in Boston, MA at Harvard’s Medical School and T.H. Chan School of Public Health on “Religion and Health From Public Health to the End of Life: Current Research and Critical Issues of Practice.” More information about the conference program including videos is available on the conference site:

http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/rshm/harvard-symposium-advancing-health-religion-and-spirituality