Happiness is Hedonic: In Defense of a Subjective Account of Well-Being

Citation

Palumbo, Elsa K. (2022) Happiness is Hedonic: In Defense of a Subjective Account of Well-Being. Other, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/jkhm-em18. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:06012022-161819602

Abstract

[Introduction] Everyone wants to live a good life. But how exactly should we define "well-being," the concept of living a good life? Traditionally, philosophy offers us three competing accounts (e.g. Kagan, 1998; Daly, 2017). First, there’s hedonism, which defines well-being in terms of an individual’s experienced happiness. Second, there’s desire satisfaction theory, which maintains that well-being is related to the extent to which your desires, actual or ideal, end up being fulfilled. And, finally, there is objective list theory, which contends that well-being depends on the extent to which your life possesses objectively good qualities, which might, for example, include things like friendship, achievement, autonomy, knowledge, and happiness.

Thesis Files