Serious Games and Well-Being

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eleven
  In Roundtable Session: Education of the Whole Person and Flourishing (Table 12)

Abstract

School engagement has been declining, especially among young males and minority students, while obsession with digital games keeps rising. Some educators have promoted delivering school content in the form of digital games, to foster engagement. Ethical concerns have been raised about the impact of digital games on the well-being of students.
Self-determination theory (SDT) (Ryan and Deci, 2001), a framework grounded in Aristotelian ethics, claims that digital gameplay conduces to student well-being. The paper uses methods of philosophical analysis and interpretation to distinguish SDT and Aristotelian conceptions of well-being. Drawing upon current research in psychology and Aristotelian ethics, it aims to establish that Aristotelian ethics provides no support for the SDT’s claims about the beneficial value of digital games.

Author

• Leonard J. Waks, Temple University
  Presenting Author