Spending your time „nurturing what is right‟ enables people to grow and negotiate the problems of life which is more than only fixing what is wrong. The World Health Organisation also defined well-being as more than not ill-being. Flourishing is an optimal state of well-being. The question is, „what is it that flourishers do different from non-flourishers?‟ Pharmacy students prepare themselves for a profession which is being bombarded with change; they are the pharmacists of tomorrow. Among them some students flourish and the others do not. This study aimed to look at possible pathways to flourishing that flourishers utilise. In this way the study addressed several gaps in the knowledge regarding flourishing: 1) The prevalence of flourishing among pharmacy students, 2) The role of demands and resources in flourishing of students, 3) The role of antecedent factors of basic psychological need satisfaction on the basic psychological need satisfaction of students and therefore in their flourishing, and 4) The use of positive affect regulation (an internal strategy) as a pathway to flourishing. A cross-sectional design was utilised. The study population was all the enrolled pharmacy students at the North West University during 2014. A convenience sample of 779 students participated. The measuring battery consisted of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2009), the Emotional Regulation Profile-Revised (ERP-R; Nelis, Quoidbach, Hansenne, & Mikolajczak, 2011), the Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs (BMPN; Sheldon & Hilpert, 2012), statements about the antecedents of basic psychological need satisfaction and statements about demands and resources, developed for the purpose of this study, and a demographic questionnaire. Structural equation modelling, invariance testing and latent class analysis were some of the statistical techniques used to analyse the cross-sectional data. Manuscript one addressed the prevalence of flourishing among pharmacy students as well as possible differences between the year groups. The manuscript also investigated the role of workload as a study demand and the lecturer as a study resource and the possible interaction between them in the flourishing of students. Year group as a possible moderator in the respective relationships between demands, resources, the interaction between them on the one hand and flourishing on the other, were also assessed. 40% of the group flourished whilst 57% was moderately healthy and 3% languished. The different year groups negotiated the demands and resources in their study environment differently in their path to flourishing. The possible pathways to flourishing in this context were identified as the use of lecturer support (a resource), especially when the workload (a demand) is high and the successful negotiation of workload over their four years of study. Manuscript two dealt with the impact of antecedent factors of basic psychological need satisfaction of pharmacy students on their basic psychological need satisfaction and therefore ultimately the influence of these contextual factors on their flourishing. The researcher wanted to determine whether there is a difference in the role(s) that family, peers, lecturers and workload play in the satisfaction of the students‟ basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence and autonomy). Year group as a moderator in these respective relationships was also investigated. Family and peers played the most important role in need satisfaction of students. However, lecturers can actively engage in supporting the need satisfaction of students, which would increase their levels of autonomous motivation and thereby their levels of flourishing. In manuscript three the use of internal strategies as pathways to flourishing were explored. Positive emotion regulation strategies have a positive relationship with well-being. However, a person can dampen or savour his or her positive emotions. The students were clustered into distinctive groups by means of a latent class analysis. Three distinctive groups were posterior identified based on the characteristics of group members, namely flourishers, languishers and moderately healthy students. Regression analyses of the three groups revealed that flourishers are the only group that most likely will utilise savouring positive emotion regulation strategies and refrain from utilising dampening positive emotion regulation strategies. Pathways to flourishing that flourishing pharmacy students utilise are therefore the use of savouring positive emotion regulation strategies and the non-use of dampening positive emotion regulation strategies.

Spending your time „nurturing what is right‟ enables people to grow and negotiate the problems of life which is more than only fixing what is wrong. The World Health Organisation also defined well-being as more than not ill-being. Flourishing is an optimal state of well-being. The question is, „what is it that flourishers do different from non-flourishers?‟ Pharmacy students prepare themselves for a profession which is being bombarded with change; they are the pharmacists of tomorrow. Among them some students flourish and the others do not. This study aimed to look at possible pathways to flourishing that flourishers utilise. In this way the study addressed several gaps in the knowledge regarding flourishing: 1) The prevalence of flourishing among pharmacy students, 2) The role of demands and resources in flourishing of students, 3) The role of antecedent factors of basic psychological need satisfaction on the basic psychological need satisfaction of students and therefore in their flourishing, and 4) The use of positive affect regulation (an internal strategy) as a pathway to flourishing. A cross-sectional design was utilised. The study population was all the enrolled pharmacy students at the North West University during 2014. A convenience sample of 779 students participated. The measuring battery consisted of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2009), the Emotional Regulation Profile-Revised (ERP-R; Nelis, Quoidbach, Hansenne, & Mikolajczak, 2011), the Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs (BMPN; Sheldon & Hilpert, 2012), statements about the antecedents of basic psychological need satisfaction and statements about demands and resources, developed for the purpose of this study, and a demographic questionnaire. Structural equation modelling, invariance testing and latent class analysis were some of the statistical techniques used to analyse the cross-sectional data. Manuscript one addressed the prevalence of flourishing among pharmacy students as well as possible differences between the year groups. The manuscript also investigated the role of workload as a study demand and the lecturer as a study resource and the possible interaction between them in the flourishing of students. Year group as a possible moderator in the respective relationships between demands, resources, the interaction between them on the one hand and flourishing on the other, were also assessed. 40% of the group flourished whilst 57% was moderately healthy and 3% languished. The different year groups negotiated the demands and resources in their study environment differently in their path to flourishing. The possible pathways to flourishing in this context were identified as the use of lecturer support (a resource), especially when the workload (a demand) is high and the successful negotiation of workload over their four years of study. Manuscript two dealt with the impact of antecedent factors of basic psychological need satisfaction of pharmacy students on their basic psychological need satisfaction and therefore ultimately the influence of these contextual factors on their flourishing. The researcher wanted to determine whether there is a difference in the role(s) that family, peers, lecturers and workload play in the satisfaction of the students‟ basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence and autonomy). Year group as a moderator in these respective relationships was also investigated. Family and peers played the most important role in need satisfaction of students. However, lecturers can actively engage in supporting the need satisfaction of students, which would increase their levels of autonomous motivation and thereby their levels of flourishing. In manuscript three the use of internal strategies as pathways to flourishing were explored. Positive emotion regulation strategies have a positive relationship with well-being. However, a person can dampen or savour his or her positive emotions. The students were clustered into distinctive groups by means of a latent class analysis. Three distinctive groups were posterior identified based on the characteristics of group members, namely flourishers, languishers and moderately healthy students. Regression analyses of the three groups revealed that flourishers are the only group that most likely will utilise savouring positive emotion regulation strategies and refrain from utilising dampening positive emotion regulation strategies. Pathways to flourishing that flourishing pharmacy students utilise are therefore the use of savouring positive emotion regulation strategies and the non-use of dampening positive emotion regulation strategies.

The Fast Moving Consumable Goods industry is characterized by competitiveness, on going change and high turnover. To stay competitive, retain talent and keep up with these fast paced systems, organisations have to capitalise on the potential of their workforce to outperform the rest. Giving the increasing demand on both employer and employee regarding innovation, creativity and shared knowledge, increased importance of employee well-being being viewed as sources of “prosperity” for organisations, are critical. Organisations must find a way to enable their employees to flourish. Flourishing refers to high levels of wellbeing in terms of feeling well and functioning well (Keyes, 2007). Subjective well-being refers to the levels of positive and negative affect and the overall satisfaction with life. Psychological well-being consists of individuals’ positive functioning in life. Social wellbeing relates to individuals’ evaluation of their functioning on a public and social level. Individuals spend a large part of their adult life at work in organisational environments that are dynamic and ever-changing. The domain of work is a critical part of existence and plays a dynamic role in the development, expression and maintenance of well-being. Globally the workplace is recognised as a key setting for focusing on improving the well-being of employees due to its compelling impact on a variety of organisational outcomes. Flourishing is thus not only relevant in everyday life, but also occurs in the work and organisational environment. Limited studies regarding flourishing in work and organisational contexts exist and central to studying, understanding, and explaining flourishing at work, are valid and reliable instruments. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a multidimensional scale that measures work flourishing. Furthermore, to investigate the impact of various factors in the work and organisational environment on flourishing in the FMCG industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding the flourishing of employees in the FMCG industry in South Africa. A stratified random sample (N = 779) was iv taken of employees in an alcoholic beverage company in South Africa. The measuring instruments used were the self-developed Flourishing-at-Work Scale, Flourishing-at-Work Scale Short Form, parts of the Job-Demand-Recourse Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), and a Biographical Questionnaire. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistics, regression analysis and latent class analysis were applied. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work flourishing and its relation to organisational antecedents and outcomes. The results of study 1 showed the validity of a multidimensional scale that measures flourishing in work and organisational context. The FAWS (Flourishing-at-Work Scale) includes the three dimensions of emotional well-being, psychological well-being, and social well-being, as suggested by Rothmann (2013). This supports the work of Keyes (2005, 2007) regarding integrating the models of hedonic (Diener, 1984), eudaimonic (Ryff, 1989), and social well-being (Keyes, 1998) into a unified structure. The results of the latent class analysis also showed that different classes of well-being were evident due to the interplay between the various dimensions. Study 2 showed that work-related antecedents impact on work flourishing. A short form of the FAWS (Flourishing-at-Work Scale) was developed and found to be valid. The results confirm that career advancement, authentic leadership and work-life interference predict work flourishing. Advancement and authentic leadership positively relate to flourishing while negative work-life interference impacts flourishing negatively. The Conservation of Resources (COR) framework (Hobfoll, 1989), which suggests that the well-being of an individual is dependent on the maintenance or gain of resources, is therefore supported. The job demands workload and job insecurity did not predict flourishing in the organisational environment. Study 3 showed that positive organisational practices (positive emotions, support, and inspiration) predict work flourishing. Furthermore, career advancement was a positive predictor of flourishing in the work and organisational context.

Both flow and flourishing are highly favourable human states and have been described as optimal experience phenomena in the well-being literature. This being said, more research is required to gauge how these states can be more readily achieved – in general, but specifically in sport – and athletic contexts; where it has remained largely unexplored. The objective of this research was to ascertain whether specific contexts can influence the experience of flow and flourishing amongst athletes. It further investigated the state-like properties of these experiences, by evaluating whether certain resources in the environment of the athlete can promote flow and flourishing and assessing whether athlete flow is dynamic over time, i.e. whether it fluctuates over the course of a particular athletic cycle. The research comprised three separate studies, reported in article format. Manuscript 1 evaluated a structural model of athlete flow by investigating the role of both job (sport) – and personal resources in the experience of athlete flow among student athletes. The resources under investigation were teammate relationships and communication (job resources) as well as self-efficacy (a personal resource). Using structural equation modelling direct paths were revealed between teammate relationships, self-efficacy and athlete flow. The findings provide some evidence that athlete flow are associated with contextual factors that relate to the team environment as well as the personal resources of the athlete. Manuscript 2 focused on the flourishing of athletes. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate relationships between athlete flourishing, team and individual strength use, team embeddedness and withdrawal behaviour. Results suggested that flourishing is related to team strength use. It also revealed positive paths from both the strength use dimensions to team embeddedness. Flourishing related positively to team embeddedness. Withdrawal behaviour was negatively associated with team embeddedness. The results revealed important information from the perspective of antecedents and outcomes of athlete flourishing. Manuscript 3 explored the state-like properties of athlete flow by conducting ecological momentary assessment of the experience amongst under-21 Currie Cup rugby players during a competitive stage of their athletic cycle. The objective of this study was twofold. Firstly, it sought to ascertain whether athlete flow will vary over time and during/ after specific key events during an athletic cycle. Secondly, it investigated whether the introduction of specific interventions during such cycle could influence athlete flow experience. The study, which adopted a longitudinal design, revealed that athlete flow was dynamic over time. Positive relationships were also established between challenging athletic activities, as well as strength-based team and individual interventions; and flow. This provides sport coaches and management teams with information that may assist them in assisting athletes to achieve more readily the favourable and optimum human state that is flow.

The Fast Moving Consumable Goods industry is characterized by competitiveness, on going change and high turnover. To stay competitive, retain talent and keep up with these fast paced systems, organisations have to capitalise on the potential of their workforce to outperform the rest. Giving the increasing demand on both employer and employee regarding innovation, creativity and shared knowledge, increased importance of employee well-being being viewed as sources of “prosperity” for organisations, are critical. Organisations must find a way to enable their employees to flourish. Flourishing refers to high levels of wellbeing in terms of feeling well and functioning well (Keyes, 2007). Subjective well-being refers to the levels of positive and negative affect and the overall satisfaction with life. Psychological well-being consists of individuals’ positive functioning in life. Social wellbeing relates to individuals’ evaluation of their functioning on a public and social level. Individuals spend a large part of their adult life at work in organisational environments that are dynamic and ever-changing. The domain of work is a critical part of existence and plays a dynamic role in the development, expression and maintenance of well-being. Globally the workplace is recognised as a key setting for focusing on improving the well-being of employees due to its compelling impact on a variety of organisational outcomes. Flourishing is thus not only relevant in everyday life, but also occurs in the work and organisational environment. Limited studies regarding flourishing in work and organisational contexts exist and central to studying, understanding, and explaining flourishing at work, are valid and reliable instruments. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a multidimensional scale that measures work flourishing. Furthermore, to investigate the impact of various factors in the work and organisational environment on flourishing in the FMCG industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding the flourishing of employees in the FMCG industry in South Africa. A stratified random sample (N = 779) was iv taken of employees in an alcoholic beverage company in South Africa. The measuring instruments used were the self-developed Flourishing-at-Work Scale, Flourishing-at-Work Scale Short Form, parts of the Job-Demand-Recourse Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), and a Biographical Questionnaire. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistics, regression analysis and latent class analysis were applied. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work flourishing and its relation to organisational antecedents and outcomes. The results of study 1 showed the validity of a multidimensional scale that measures flourishing in work and organisational context. The FAWS (Flourishing-at-Work Scale) includes the three dimensions of emotional well-being, psychological well-being, and social well-being, as suggested by Rothmann (2013). This supports the work of Keyes (2005, 2007) regarding integrating the models of hedonic (Diener, 1984), eudaimonic (Ryff, 1989), and social well-being (Keyes, 1998) into a unified structure. The results of the latent class analysis also showed that different classes of well-being were evident due to the interplay between the various dimensions. Study 2 showed that work-related antecedents impact on work flourishing. A short form of the FAWS (Flourishing-at-Work Scale) was developed and found to be valid. The results confirm that career advancement, authentic leadership and work-life interference predict work flourishing. Advancement and authentic leadership positively relate to flourishing while negative work-life interference impacts flourishing negatively. The Conservation of Resources (COR) framework (Hobfoll, 1989), which suggests that the well-being of an individual is dependent on the maintenance or gain of resources, is therefore supported. The job demands workload and job insecurity did not predict flourishing in the organisational environment. Study 3 showed that positive organisational practices (positive emotions, support, and inspiration) predict work flourishing. Furthermore, career advancement was a positive predictor of flourishing in the work and organisational context.

Both flow and flourishing are highly favourable human states and have been described as optimal experience phenomena in the well-being literature. This being said, more research is required to gauge how these states can be more readily achieved – in general, but specifically in sport – and athletic contexts; where it has remained largely unexplored. The objective of this research was to ascertain whether specific contexts can influence the experience of flow and flourishing amongst athletes. It further investigated the state-like properties of these experiences, by evaluating whether certain resources in the environment of the athlete can promote flow and flourishing and assessing whether athlete flow is dynamic over time, i.e. whether it fluctuates over the course of a particular athletic cycle. The research comprised three separate studies, reported in article format. Manuscript 1 evaluated a structural model of athlete flow by investigating the role of both job (sport) – and personal resources in the experience of athlete flow among student athletes. The resources under investigation were teammate relationships and communication (job resources) as well as self-efficacy (a personal resource). Using structural equation modelling direct paths were revealed between teammate relationships, self-efficacy and athlete flow. The findings provide some evidence that athlete flow are associated with contextual factors that relate to the team environment as well as the personal resources of the athlete. Manuscript 2 focused on the flourishing of athletes. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate relationships between athlete flourishing, team and individual strength use, team embeddedness and withdrawal behaviour. Results suggested that flourishing is related to team strength use. It also revealed positive paths from both the strength use dimensions to team embeddedness. Flourishing related positively to team embeddedness. Withdrawal behaviour was negatively associated with team embeddedness. The results revealed important information from the perspective of antecedents and outcomes of athlete flourishing. Manuscript 3 explored the state-like properties of athlete flow by conducting ecological momentary assessment of the experience amongst under-21 Currie Cup rugby players during a competitive stage of their athletic cycle. The objective of this study was twofold. Firstly, it sought to ascertain whether athlete flow will vary over time and during/ after specific key events during an athletic cycle. Secondly, it investigated whether the introduction of specific interventions during such cycle could influence athlete flow experience. The study, which adopted a longitudinal design, revealed that athlete flow was dynamic over time. Positive relationships were also established between challenging athletic activities, as well as strength-based team and individual interventions; and flow. This provides sport coaches and management teams with information that may assist them in assisting athletes to achieve more readily the favourable and optimum human state that is flow.

L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier les ressources psychologiques qui favorisent l’épanouissement pour une insertion professionnelle rapide. Nous avons mené une démarche comparative entre deux moments : en amont et en aval de la transition université-emploi. L’objectif étant de voir comment ces ressources se développent-elles tout au long de la transition. La recherche s’est déroulée en Tunisie. La population étudiée concerne les jeunes diplômés de l’enseignement supérieur qui se caractérisent par un faible taux d’employabilité et un fort taux de chômage. Ces étudiants poursuivent des études en Sciences Humaines et Sociales, en Lettres, en Sciences Economiques et en Droit. Deux groupes sont considérés dans cette population : un groupe d’étudiants en fin de parcours universitaire (en amont de la transition) et un groupe de diplômés en insertion professionnelle (en aval de la transition). Nous avons procédé à une méthodologie mixte articulant une étude qualitative exploratoire basée sur l’analyse de discours, et une étude quantitative. Nous avons procédé à la validation des outils de mesure psychométriques dans le contexte tunisien, tels que l’échelle d’épanouissement (Diener, 2010), l’échelle d’adaptabilité de carrière, version courte (CAAS-SF) (Maggiori, Rossier, & Savickas, 2017), l’échelle de « connaissance de ses forces » (Govindji & Linley, 2007) et l’Inventaire des forces de caractère (VIA-72). Des analyses de corrélation, de régression linéaire et hiérarchique et une modélisation par équation structurelle par la méthode PLS ont été conduites. Les résultats des deux études révèlent que l’épanouissement joue un rôle considérable dans le développement de l’adaptabilité de carrière et dans une insertion professionnelle rapide. Les ressources psychologiques sont mobilisées différemment en amont et en aval de la transition. Les forces de l’optimisme agissent positivement en amont de la transition. Les forces de la sagesse, les forces de la tempérance et le comportement proactif favorisent une insertion professionnelle rapide. En prenant appui à la fois sur ces résultats et sur la revue de la littérature, nous proposons des actions à mener au niveau institutionnel pour promouvoir l’épanouissement et le comportement proactif au sein des structures universitaires. Nous discutons l’élaboration de dispositifs d’appui à la transition université-emploi dans le cadre d’une collaboration régionale méditerranéenne transculturelle et multidisciplinaire. / The purpose of this work is to study the psychological resources that promote the development for fast reemployment. We applied a comparative approach between two phases: the before and after of University to Work Transition (STWT). The goal is to see how these resources develop throughout the transition. The research took place in Tunisia. Our study focuses on young gradudates of higher education suffering from low employability and high unemployment rate that complicates their reemployment. These students pursue studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Literature, Economics, and Law. Two groups are considered: A group of students at the end of their university studies (before the transition) and a group of graduates in a reemployment period (after the transition). We made use of a mixed methodology articulating an exploratory qualitative study based on discourse analysis, and a quantitative empirical study. We have validated psychometric scales in the Tunisian context, such as the scale of Flourishing (Diener, 2010), the scale of Career Adpatability Short Version (CAAS-SF) (Maggiori, Rossier, & Savickas, 2017), the "Strenghts Knowledge" scale (Govindji & Linley, 2007) and the Character Strengths Inventory (VIA-72). Correlation, linear and hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling using the PLS method were conducted. The results of both studies reveal that flourishing plays a significant role in developing career adaptability and rapid reemployment. Psychological resources are mobilized differently before and after the transition. The strengths of optimism contribute positively before the transition. The strenghts of wisdom, the temperance and proactive behavior promote rapid reemployment. Based on both results and the literature review, we propose a set of actions to be taken at the institutional level to promote the development and proactive behavior within academic structures. We discuss the development of support schemes for university-employment transition as part of a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary Mediterranean regional collaboration.

La présente thèse propose une réflexion sur les valeurs du travail à partir de l’œuvre de Martha C. Nussbaum, de sa conception des capacités, de la vie bonne et de la justice. Nous y définissions la valeur du travail en fonction de ses effets sur les capacités du travailleur et des autres partie-prenantes. Penser les valeurs du travail à partir des capacités relationnelles permet de rendre compte de dimensions essentielles que le travail permet de développer et que chaque être humain valorise : le respect de soi, la qualité des relations inter-personnelles ou les interactions positives avec le milieu naturel et culturel, de façon à préserver le bien vivre aujourd’hui et demain. Nous éclairons ainsi les enjeux et des finalités du bien vivre au travail, en s’appuyant sur une anthropologie et une éthique relationnelles inspirées d’Aristote et de Kant. Suivant cette approche, le travail s’inscrit aussi dans un cadre institutionnel qui vise à garantir à tous l’accès aux capacités, et en particulier à ceux qui en sont exclus.En contrepoint des approches purement instrumentales de la valeur du travail, d’inspiration utilitariste et néoclassique, cette conception des valeurs du travail est centrée ses finalités, en termes de fonctionnements humains et de vie bonne, à une échelle individuelle et collective.La portée pratique de cette recherche consiste à mettre en évidence les tensions dont le travail contemporain est l’objet et à proposer une démarche pour évaluer, de façon plus juste, les capacités des êtres humains qui y sont engagées. Elle ouvre ainsi la voie à une réflexion pour des acteurs économiques – équipes, entrepreneurs, investisseurs - qui souhaiteraient s’inspirer du cadre proposé pour faire évoluer leurs pratiques et leurs modèles économiques, en promouvant une économie qui serait davantage attentive à la qualité relationnelle entre les parties prenantes. / This thesis proposes a reflection on the values of work based on the work of Martha C. Nussbaum, her conception of capabilities, good life and justice. We defined the value of work in terms of its effects on the abilities of the worker and other stakeholders. Defining work values based on relational capacities makes it possible to account for essential dimensions that work allows to develop and that each human being values: self-respect, the quality of interpersonal relations or positive interactions with the natural and cultural environment, so as to preserve the good life today and tomorrow. In this way, we shed light on the challenges and aims of good working life, based on an anthropology and relational ethics inspired by Aristotle and Kant. Following this approach, the work is also part of an institutional framework that aims to guarantee access to capacities for all, and in particular for those excluded from them.As a counterpoint to purely instrumental approaches to the value of work, utilitarian and neoclassical in inspiration, this conception of work values is centred on its aims, in terms of human functioning and good life, on an individual and collective scale.The practical scope of this research consists in highlighting the tensions to which contemporary work is subjected and in proposing an approach to evaluate, in a more accurate way, the capacities of the human beings who are committed to it. It thus opens the way to reflection for economic players - teams, entrepreneurs, investors - who would like to draw inspiration from the proposed framework to change their business practices and models, by promoting an economy that would be more attentive to the quality of relationships between stakeholders.

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The way the vast majority of us think about the self, consciousness and free will is incorrect – dramatically out of step with what the majority of neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists scientists and analytic philosophers have to say about those subjects. One consequence of these erroneous views is that the manner in which the majority of us understand ‘freedom’ – as a metaphysical term and as a political concept -- is sharply at odds with how things actually are. We replicate similar kinds of errors when we think about how various forms of human association are constructed and how change actually occurs within such associations. Once again, epistemological fallacies with regard to social theory have the consequence of leading us to attribute far greater ‘freedom’ to groups than they actually possess. This second misattribution of autonomy results in institutional political arrangements and constitutional doctrines at odds with what we know about the human condition. As things stand, the various models of political theory with which the South African Constitutional Court operates rest upon a belief that the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Final Constitution should enable individuals to exercise relatively unfettered control over decisions about the intimate relationships and the various practices deemed critical to their self-understanding. However, individual autonomy as a foundation for constitutional theory overemphasizes dramatically the actual space for self-defining choices. In truth, our experience of personhood, of self-consciousness, is a function of a complex set of narratives over which we exercise little in the way of (self) control. The involuntary and arational nature of identity formation – at the level of both the individual and the social -- requires a constitutional theory that supplants the model of a rational individual moral agent which undergirds much of our current jurisprudence with a vision of the self that is more appropriately located within and determined by the associations to which we all belong. Despite the involuntary and arational nature of identity formation, we can live within communities that determine the greater part of the meaning we make, and still remain committed to the possibility of significant change (for the better) within those communities. This thesis then goes on to explain how a commitment to experimentalism in the political domain, when married to a robust conception of basic entitlements and citizenship, services human flourishing. (To expand the conditions for flourishing, however, is not to make us metaphysically ‘free’ to ‘will’ our actions: a commitment to flourishing reflects an attempt to create an environment in which all inhabitants of South Africa have the opportunity to live lives worth valuing.) Experimental constitutionalism dovetails with a very modest, naturalized account of flourishing because both accounts (1) take the radical givenness of existing constitutive attachments seriously; (2) recognize the boundedness of individual and collective rationality; and (3) describe various kinds of feedback mechanisms that allow for error correction and the enhancement of the conditions of being. Experimental constitutionalism, in particular, enables more citizens to see what ‘works’ and what doesn’t – both with respect to the means and the ends of our existence. Experimental constitutionalism offers the promise of improving the conditions for being by suggesting a range of alterations in constitutional doctrine and a host of changes in the manner in which many political institutions operate. In South Africa, the innovations associated with experimental constitutional design embrace: (1) a doctrine of constitutional supremacy that maintains a meaningful equilibrium with a doctrine of separation of powers, and thus sets relatively clear guidelines for how authority for constitutional interpretation might best be shared by the judiciary, the legislature, the executive and non-state-actors; (2) the use of various standard judicial mechanisms – such as cost orders, court procedures, amici and intervenors, expanded constitutional jurisdiction and structural injunctions – to create bubbles of participatory democracy better able (than courts or legislatures) to resolve various kinds of polycentric conflict; (3) an approach to limitations analysis that provides a better process than ‘balancing’ for experimentalist adjudication; and (4) greater roles for Chapter 9 Institutions with respect to investigation, information-sharing and norm-setting; and (5) a principle of democracy that invites public participation in law-making that will both elicit better information about which government policies work best and effect widespread reflection about the meaning of those constitutional norms that govern our lives. The thesis then (a) mines the brief historical record of two important policy areas – Housing and Education – to show how the principles of experimental constitutionalism have already been put to work and (b) re-examines six Constitutional Court cases to demonstrate how the dual commitment to experimental constitutionalism and flourishing might generate more optimal outcomes. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Public Law / unrestricted