ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Matthew T. Lee will argue that a healthy, mature conception of love is a foundational and unifying principle that might more intentionally guide the project of humanistic management in ways that ultimately contribute to the promotion of flourishing: more complete forms of healthy, life-affirming well-being across multiple domains. Stated simply, the quality of our awareness of love is a crucial – and generally overlooked – factor that fundamentally shapes our individual and collective ability to thrive.
He draws attention to awareness because social scientists continue to confirm a bedrock truth that philosophers and the founders of religious orders have promoted for millennia: “the control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” Although perhaps not widely appreciated, there is great wisdom in the statement that the “principal form that the work of love takes is attention.” By means of thoughtful attention, we become empowered to love more effectively. A healthier and more virtuous understanding of love provides a means for focusing awareness on that which is truly life-affirming, as well as greater clarity about the criteria that might be used to discern which actions to take at both the individual and organizational level in order to promote the highest amount and quality of flourishing.
