Abstract

The year 2024 is proving to be a landmark in the explosion of diseases all over the world. Collectively, we are experiencing a huge rise in obesity and related diseases like diabetes type 2 and heart disease; a huge rise in mental illnesses, leading to deaths and diseases of despair; a huge increase in the gap between the world’s billionaires and everyone else; a huge increase in authoritarian populist leaders replacing democratic political candidates. The Olympic Games are part of the national identity of almost every nation in the world. They were institutionalized as a way to encourage each citizen to cultivate a healthy mind in a healthy body. This paper begins with the view of a healthy civilization underlying all aspects of the Olympic Games. The underlying view also follows Aristotle’s model of a flourishing citizen in a flourishing society. A number of recent books that focus on some aspect of the many diseases people experience today, including physical and mental health, refer explicitly to Aristotle’s model of flourishing as the standard against which they expose corruptions and a model to follow as we create a healthier culture in the future. The World Congress in Rome, the Center for Values in Philosophy and the ISUD also support the work of scholars who bring together ideas about how to create a healthier international civilization so that future generations can survive and thrive.