*A note on the concept of a good life: this is not a definition but rather a description. What makes a good life in a specific place is dependent on the specific place, but through LBD’s research focusing on that which we share, certain themes kept re-emerging. These constituted the characterisation of a good life discussed below…*

‘Beauty will save the world’ Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot. 

Contemplation is the peace that balances out agency. It is the depth that is found when one appreciates beauty. It is the pull of the quiet life. It is the space one leaves for gratitude in their life. This translates to the conviction that beauty, tranquillity and peace should not be luxuries reserved only for the higher income groups. It works with the pull we get from great works of nature and views in that vein, within the traditions and cultures of the specific place. It acts as a reminder that we must have the courage to think beyond only matters of utility and efficiency, to something with more depth to orientate our policies, communities and lives towards.

‘Sociology has opened up to talk about human fulfilment in ways that economics has not yet. There are whole assessments of what “well-being” means.’ Paul Tyson, senior research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland, LBD Rannoch Meetings 2022.