A capabilities approach to personal development

Warning: Rather obvious things will be said below. (EDIT: May not be so obvious after all. Sorry.)

The capabilities approach is an important theoretical framework in political and moral philosophy, often used in the context of development and welfare economics, pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The principal insight I want to import from the capabilities approach is that the main goal of any development exercise should be to increase the capabilities of individuals. In other words, I may not be able to tell what goals you would like to achieve, but I can make a reasonable guess that capabilities like health, access to jobs, access to food-supply etc. would help you achieve what you want to achieve. The capabilities approach doesn't necessarily privilege a life-script.

There are three main categories of capabilities: personal, social and environmental. Let me illustrate with an example from the Stanford Encyclopedia article. Suppose you own a bike. This in itself isn't very useful. You value the bike because you can use it to move around. But in order to be able to use it fruitfully, you need a degree of all three categories of capabilities: (1) Personal capabilities: You must know how to ride a bike. The quality of your health determines how far you go. Your bike must be in good condition. (2) Social capabilities: It should be socially acceptable to ride a bike; for example you may live in a country where women aren't allowed to ride bikes. (3) Environmental capabilities: You need to have decent roads to ride the bike. You must have access to bike repair shops. It must be safe to ride a bike. 

Another major insight of the capabilities approach is that capabilities can combine and are inter-dependent. Thus, there can be a combinatorial explosion in actual opportunities for each extra capability acquired. Sticking with the bike example, suppose you also know how to drive a car and own a car; suppose your car can carry your bike; suppose you have good fitness; and suppose you have access to wilderness. Now, you can take your bike to the wilderness and bike around and enjoy the nature. This capability in turn allows a great new mode of socialization. Further, you have a capability to further improve your fitness. 

My goal here is to apply this approach to personal development. First let me make a tentative list of what capabilities seem worth acquiring (far from comprehensive or complete):

1. Fitness capabilities: Access to gyms; running spaces; knowledge of good exercise routines and form; techniques for converting this knowledge and access into actual regular practice.
2. Nutrition capabilities: Access to an affordable variety of nutritious food; knowledge of what to eat; techniques for eating healthy consistently. 
3. Health capabilities: Access to affordable medical care; knowledge of good health practices; good sanitation systems; vaccination; clean air and water.
4. Mental well-being capabilities: Access to mental health services; strong social support systems; knowledge of emotional techniques such as meditation, self-compassion; ability to bounce back from stress.
5. Social skills: Having a good family/friend circle; ability to speak publicly; ability to engage in conversation in both regular and novel situations; access to interesting people; freedom to choose your social circle; ability to influence peers and people in the workplace.
6. Romantic/Sexual capabilities: Sexual freedom; freedom of expression of sexual orientation; knowledge of good sexual practices; access to a dating pool; freedom to marry and divorce; abilities of seek, find and connect with partners.
7. Work capabilities: Abilities that allow you seek jobs and move to a different place; non-racist/non-sexist/disabled-friendly workplaces; having various skills so as to be able to seek different jobs.
8. Intellectual capabilities: Access to good education; access to the internet; IQ; reading, writing & math skills; access to libraries/books.
9. Movement capabilities: Citizenship/Residency in a developed country; good transportation systems; access to public and personal transport.

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