Sen and Moral Choice: Merging development and existentialism

Abstract

Development as freedom, in the words of Amartya Sen (1999), a renowned Indian political economist and philosopher, means that development is not reducible to income satisfaction. Rather, it is about what people are “able to do and be”. But beyond Sen, this paper makes the argument that human development, based on the notion of moral choice, possesses an existential character. This means that full human development, anchored on the idea of being free, has an existential meaning. Deeply embedded values ultimately govern how a person makes choices. Thus, while human well-being goes beyond mere material or need satisfaction, a more holistic account of human development should consider the human person‟s quest for love, meaning and self-realization.