ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ontological/anthropological, epistemological, and ethical worldview assumptions evident in the field of positive psychology and the effects of these assumptions on the interrelated conceptualizations of flourishing and virtues. It illustrates three disparate worldviews: Aristotelianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The chapter proposes the advisability of "positive psychologies," recognizing that alternative worldviews with different values might shape conceptualizations of flourishing and virtues in different ways. It reviews the concept of worldviews as used in the field of psychology and articulation of the benefits of bringing the concept of worldview into positive psychology. The chapter argues that many psychologists in the field of positive psychology suffer from a lack of self-awareness of worldview issues underlying their methodology and content in ways that are detrimental to the field of positive psychology. Positive psychology's primary anthropological worldview assumptions is that of universalism – that there are at least some positive traits or virtues that are invariant and fixed across space and time.
