People prefer fulfillment over emptiness of the soul.
Fulfillment, sometimes called eudaimonic happiness, or subjective well-being is primarily an emotion, secondarily a thought, and it reaches into the domain of action. It is distinguished from happiness in that it reaches into these other domains besides emotion. On these grounds, we could say that it is a global desire.
As usually described, fulfillment is also more enduring than happiness, which can be fleeting. Fulfillment is best seen as a quality of being that is related to a sense of long-term purpose, or purpose over a lifetime. Therefore, the positive association between prosocial behaviors, and also eudaimonic motives, and eudaimonic happiness should come as no surprise. Work performance appears to improve more in response to eudaimonic than hedonic happiness. Eudaimonic motives seem to improve performance among college students. A posited relationship between eudaimonic happiness and entrepreneurship is being investigated.
Fulfillment also reaches outside but does not neglect the self. Satisfaction, pleasure and longevity apply to the individual. Mainly, happiness does too. Fulfillment goes beyond that. A bank robber might experience happiness with his stolen wealth but most of us would strongly question whether his life in fulfilled. Many people say that parenthood fulfills them. Others say that they are fulfilled by serving others: for example, by teaching, providing for others or defending their country. As social creatures, we humans thrive on our relationships with others; the well-being of those we care about makes us happy. People who are childless or who live in solitude may find fulfillment too but our relationships with others add a dimension to our preferences and desires that most people identify as creating the distinction we call fulfillment. In this too, fulfillment is distinguished from mere happiness. It also begins to open us to spirituality.
Subjective well-being (SWB) has been mapped via brain fMRI. Subcortical brain volume appears to play a role in SWB.
The effects of SWB appear to be essentially universal around the world. Predictors include economic development, environmental health, equality and freedom. People who report higher levels of subjective well-being tend to live longer and happier lives. However, cultural values can play a role in the elderly.
Real
True Narratives
- Anna Wiener, Uncanny Valley: A Memoir (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2019): “Anna Wiener recounts what made her, a 25-year-old woman with an ‘affectedly analog’ life in New York City, abandon her job at a literary agency in 2013 to work for tech start-ups, and what eventually — five years later — made her leave the industry. Money was certainly part of her original decision, but not all.”
- Keith Thomas, The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfillment in Early Modern England (Oxford University Press, 2009).
Technical and Analytical Readings
- Daniel Kahneman, Edward Diener & Ed Diener, eds., Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (Russell Sage Foundation, 1999).
- Ed Diener & Robert Biswas-Diener, eds., Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth (Blackwell Publishing, 2008).
- Edward Diener & Eunkook M. Suh, eds., Culture and Subjective Well-Being (MIT Press, 2000).
- Ed Diener, Daniel Kahneman & John Helliwell, eds., International Differences in Well-Being (Oxford University Press, 2010).
- Ed Diener, ed., Culture and Well-Being: The Collected Works of Ed Diener (Springer, 2009).
- Ed Diener, ed., Assessing Well-Being: The Collected Works of Ed Diener (Springer, 2009).
- Kathleen Galvin, ed., Routledge Handbook of Well-Being (Routledge, 2018).
- Susan Krauss Whitbourne, The Search for Fulfillment: Revolutionary New Research That Reveals the Secret To Long-Term Happiness (Ballantine Books, 2010).
- Valerie Tiberius, Well-Being as Value Fulfillment: How We Can Help Each Other to Live Well (Oxford University Press, 2018).
- Ruthellen Josselson, Paths to Fulfillment: Women's Search for Meaning and Identity (Oxford University Press, 2017).
- Bren Slusser, Maximizing Fulfillment at Work: A Workbook to Maximize Optimal Team Performance (Routledge, 2025).
- Guy Fletcher, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being (Routledge, 2016).
- Chris Meadows, A Psychological Perspective on Joy and Emotional Fulfillment (Routledge, 2014).
- Paul Valent, Trauma and Fulfillment Therapy: A Wholist Framework: Pathways to Fulfillment (Routledge, 2012).
- Calvin A. Colarusso, Fulfillment in Adulthood: Paths to the Pinnacle of Life (Springer, 1994).
- Esther M. Sternberg, Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being (Belknap Press, 2009).
- Felicia Huppert, Nick Baylis & Barry Keverne, eds., The Science of Well-Being (Oxford University Press, 2005).
- Anna Alexandrova, A Philosophy for the Science of Well-Being (Oxford University Press, 2017).
- Raymond MacDonald, Gunter Kreutz & Laura Mitchell, eds., Music, Health, and Wellbeing (Oxford University Press, 2012).
- Penelope Gouk, et. al., eds., The Routledge Companion to Music, Mind, and Well-being (Routledge, 2019).
- Guy Fletcher, The Philosophy of Well-Being: An Introduction (Routledge, 2016).
- James E. Maddux, ed., Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction: A Social Psychological Perspective (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2024).
- Matthew D. Adler & Marc Fleurbaey, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Well-Being and Public Policy (Oxford University Press, 2016).
- Susan C. Mapp, Global Child Welfare and Well-Being (Oxford University Press, 2011).
- Serena Olsaretti, Preferences and Well-Being (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
- Journal of Happiness Studies
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Novels and stories:
- Thomas Grattan, The Recent East: A Novel (MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2021): “. . . Grattan gives us not only life, but a good life . . .”
Poetry
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Élage Diouf is a Canadian singer from Senegal who expresses a wide range of emotions with his gentle baritone. Joy and compassion are two of his main offerings on his several albums, videos and uploads.
Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigals are about the aspirations and concerns of daily life.
- Book 1, SV 1-39 (Il Primo Libro di Madrigali) (1587) (approx. 57-65’)
- Book 2, SV 40-59 (Il Secondo Libro di Madrigali) (1590) (approx. 70’)
- Book 3, SV 60-74 (Il Terzo Libro di Madrigali) (1592) (approx. 63’)
- Book 4, SV 75-93 (Il Quarto Libro di Madrigali) (1603) (approx. 61’)
- Book 5, SV 94-106 (Il Quinto Libro di Madrigali) (1605) (approx. 66’)
- Book 6, SV 107-116 (Il Sesto Libro di Madrigali) (1614) (approx. 72’)
- Book 7, SV 117-145 (Il Settimo Libro di Madrigali) (1619) (approx. 136’)
- Book 8, SV 146-167 (Il Ottavo Libro di Madrigali) (1638) (approx. 193’)
- Book 9, SV 168-179 (Il Nono Libro di Madrigali) (1651) (approx. 75’)
Antonio Vivaldi, 12 Violin Concerti, Op. 9, "La Cetra" (a lyre-like instrument) (1727) (approx. 104-130’): “These twelve concertos offer a great deal of rewarding music: beautiful serenades, haunting largos, and even an occasional melody borrowed from the Seasons . . .”
Other compositions:
- Raga Sanjh Saravali (Sanjh Sarawali) is an evening raag composed by sitar maestro Vilayat Khan, who explains it here. “Sanjh Saravali is, essentially, a song (capital S) complete in itself, requiring no reference point or validation beyond its own direct appeal to the heart of the listener.” Linked performances are by Vilayat Khan, Vilayat Khan, and Vilayat Khan.
- Rudolf Moser, Kleine Suite for String Orchestra, Op. 38, No. 1 (approx. 14’): a sense of deep satisfaction pervades the work.
- Franz Krommer (Frantisek Kramár), Symphony No. 6 in D major (1823) (approx. 33’), “begins with big, majestic chords that fall away and build again.” Overall, the work has an affirmative feel.
- Raga Jaijaivanti (Jaijaiwanti) is a Hindustani classical raag for late evening. “According to Guru Granth Sahib, Jaijaivanti expresses the feeling of happiness and satisfaction of achievement, while simultaneously conveying the sadness of losing.” Performances by Asad Ali Khan, Alauddin Khan, Ashraf Sharif Khan and the Senior Dagar Brothers.
Albums:
- Noemi Nuti, “Venus Eye” (2020) (51’), upbeat songs about living; “. . . a celebration of the modern day female perspective through the medium of the traditional acoustic jazz quartet and the art of song form.”
- Fapy Lafertin New Quartet, “Atlantico” (2020) (58’): following on Django Reinhardt’s example, “Belgian guitarist Fapy Lafertin’s latest album is another attempt to pull so-called “gypsy jazz” into the commercial mainstream.” The music is inviting, upbeat and self-assured.
- “Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and Hi-Life Jazz” (2022) (52’), “is an absolutely wonderful collection of original but classic-sounding highlife grooves studded throughout with his uniquely vibing and funky interpretations of some of the most beloved of American modern jazz classics.”
- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, “In Concert” (1962) (77’): the players are together, and from the sound of it, having a great time.
Music: songs and other short pieces
- Yungchen Lhamo, “Happiness Is . . .”
Visual Arts
Film and Stage
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a “rare and tender story of a valiant and sensitive little girl reaching hopefully for spiritual fulfillment in a wretchedly meager home. It is the story of the wondrous love she gathered from a father who was a cheerful ne'er-do-well and of the painful peace she made with her brave mother after the adored father had died.” The story is also an exploration of imagination, with the gifted girl’s parents representing the extremes: the ungrounded father loaded with imagination and the fully grounded mother without imagination.
- The Rapture, about a young woman who becomes a Christian fundamentalist, the film highlights the dangerous interplay between human need, belief and interpretation