Subjective Theories of Well-Being

Woodard, Christopher

Abstract

Subjective theories of well-being seek to explain what makes something good for a subject in terms of that subject's psychological states. Two ways of distinguishing subjective and non-subjective theories are explained. The main issue dividing subjectivists is then discussed: exactly which states explain what makes something good for someone. One aspect of this is which kind of state is relevant: desires, beliefs, cares, or something else? Another aspect is whether any sort of idealization, such as correction for factual errors, is appropriate. The entry ends by discussing some attractions of subjective theories, and some issues facing further development of them.

Citation

Woodard, C. (2019). Subjective Theories of Well-Being. In H. LaFollette (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Ethics (1-8). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee927

• Acceptance Date: Aug 28, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 29, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 29, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2018
• Publisher: Wiley
• Pages: 1-8
• Book Title: International Encyclopedia of Ethics
• ISBN: 9781405186414
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee927
• Keywords: alienation; animals; children; desire; idealization; objective theories; preference; psychologism; subjective theories; time; well-being
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1096689
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee927