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1、 Subjective well-being1. IntroductionSubjective measures of well-being are measures of well-being based on questions such as: “Taking things all together, how would you say things are these days would you say youre very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy these days?” (Gurin, Veroff, & Feld,1960,
2、p. 411, italics in original).1 Subjects maybe prompted to give a number between 1 and 7, where 1 represents “In general, I consider myself not a very happy person” and 7 “In general, I consider myself a very happy person” (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999, p. 151). In the past, they were asked whether the
3、y satisfied descriptions such as: “Cheerful, gay spirits most of the time. Occasionally bothered by something but can usually laugh it off,” “Ups and downs,now happy about things, now depressed about balanced in the long run,” and “Life often seems so worthless that there is little to keep one going
4、. Nothing matters very much, there has been so much of hurt that laughter would be empty mockery” (Watson, 1930, p. 81). Answers to such questions are used to construct numerical measures of both individual well-being (the well-being of persons) and social wellbeing(the well-being of groups). Subjec
5、tive measures of well-being have become the subject of heated discussion in the academy and beyond. One reason is that they are frequently presented as substitutes for, or complements to, traditional income-based economic welfare measures and to indicators inspired by the capability approach (Kesebi
6、r & Diener, 2008). Indeed, to encourage the use of subjective measures for public policy purposes, proponents have advocated National Well-Being Accounts (NWBAs), which track population-level scores on subjective measures over time (Diener & Seligman, 2004; Diener, 2006; Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade,
7、Schwarz, & Stone, 2004). While it is hard to predict the extent to which subjective measures will assume the role traditionally played by other measures, subjective measures seem to be gaining ground. For instance, their use was recently endorsed by French President Nicholas Sarkozys Commission on t
8、he Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The Commission, which was headed by Nobel Memorial Prize laureates Joseph E. Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, had been charged with the task of exploring alternatives to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic performance and social
9、progress(Stiglitz, Sen, & Fitoussi, 2009).Subjective measures of well-being are frequently referred to as measures of subjective well-being (Andrews&Robinson, 1991). Thus, for example, Stiglitz and coauthors write: “Recommendation 1: Measures of subjective well-being provide key information about pe
10、oples quality of life. Statistical offices should incorporate questions to capture peoples life evaluations, hedonic experiences and priorities in their own surveys” (Stiglitz et al., 2009, p. 58, italics in original). The term “subjective well-being” (Diener, 1984) denoting that which subjective me
11、asures of well-being are designed to represent has its own encyclopedia entries (e.g., Diener, 2001) and handbook articles(e.g., Diener, Lucas, & Oishi, 2005). By now, an established body of literature employs subjective measures of well-being to shed light on the causes and correlates of subjective
12、 well-being. Though issues about the reliability and validity of such measures remain, scientific and validity and more on examining substantive empirical relationships.Nevertheless, considerable confusion remains when it comes to what subjective well-being is and how it relates to what I will call
13、well-being simpliciter: “what we have ，when our lives are going well for us, when we are living lives that are not necessarily morally good, but good for us” (Tiberius, 2006, p. 493, italics in original). It has been pointed out that subjective measures differ from economic and capability-based meas
14、ures with respect to the underlying account of welfare or well-being (Adler & Posner, 2008; Angner, 2008, 2009a).2 It has also been noted that proponents of subjective measures differ among themselves (Bruni, 2008, pp.117120; Tiberius, 2006, pp. 494495). Yet, when it comes to the nature of subjectiv
15、e well-being and its relation to well-being simpliciter, existing literature fails to capture the degree of diversity,and disagreement, among proponents of subjective measures. The result is a false impression of homogeneity and an obstacle to fruitful communication and cooperation within and across
16、 disciplinary boundaries.This paper examines the notion of “subjective well-being” as the term is used in literature on subjective measures of well-being. In order to examine what subjective well-being is and how it relates to well-being simpliciter, I begin by exploring the accounts of wellbeing im
17、plicit in the literature on subjective measures as well as the role that subjective well-being plays in those accounts and proceed to examine what subjective well-being is thought to be.My aim is to establish that proponents of subjective measures differ at least superficially on at least two points
18、. First, they disagree about the relationship between subjective well-being and wellbeing simpliciter: about whether subjective well-being constitutes well-being simpliciter or merely is a component of it. Second, they disagree about the nature of subjective well-being: about whether it is constitut
19、ed by a cognitive, hedonic, emotional, or mood state, or some combination, and about whether to call that state “happiness,” “satisfaction,” or something else entirely. In an effort to reconcile these differences, I propose an interpretation according to which subjective measures presuppose preferen
20、ce hedonism: an account according to which well-being is a matter of desired mental states. This reading has not (to my knowledge) been explicitly endorsed by proponents of subjective measures. Yet, it succeeds in reconciling much that has been written about subjective measures and it has the additi
21、onal advantage of attributing to proponents of subjective measure an account of well-being that has clear axiological foundations and is relatively plausible.A proper appreciation of the nature of subjective well-being and its relation to well-being simpliciter is important for a variety of reasons.
22、 Among other things, such an appreciation can help both proponents and critics of subjective measures to develop clearer and more effective arguments. Proponents of subjective measures like those who argue for the development of NWBAs will want to identify the most plausible interpretation of these
23、measures, so as to permit the development of as strong a case as possible in their favor. Critics like those who argue for the superiority of traditional economic or capability-based measures will want to zero in on the most plausible interpretation of subjective measures so as to avoid the charge t
24、hat they are attacking a straw man. My hope is that in the end, a clearer appreciation for the foundations of subjective measures can help remove obstacles to scientific communication, collaboration, and progress.2. Subjective well-being and well-being simpliciterIn this section, I explore the relat
25、ionship between subjective well-being and well-being simpliciter in the writings on subjective measures. I will argue that proponents of subjective measures of well-being disagree about the relationship between subjective well-being and well-being simpliciter: about whether subjective well-being con
26、stitutes well-being simpliciter or merely is a component of it.As my starting point, I take the concept of well-being, that is, what I have so far called well-being simpliciter: “what we have when our lives are going well for us, when we are living lives that are not necessarily morally good, but go
27、od for us” (Tiberius, 2006, p. 493,italics in original). Let us call this the “core” concept of well-being. There are many other terms that are used in the same sense, including “a persons good, benefit, advantage, interest, prudential value, welfare, happiness, flourishing, eudaimonia, and utility”
28、 (Moore &Crisp, 1996, p. 599). Because the concept of well-being is intended to capture what is ultimately and not just instrumentally good for the individual, it is also supposed to capture that which we have reason to promote as an end and not just as a means both in our own lives and in the lives
29、 of others. As Thomas Scanlon puts it: It is commonly supposed that there is a simple notion of individual well-being that plays the following three roles. First, it serves as an important basis for the decisions of a single rational individual, at least for those decisions in which he or she alone
30、is concerned (that is to say, in which moral obligations and concerns for others can be left aside). Second, it is what a concerned benefactor, such as a friend or parent, has reason to promote. Third, it is the basis on which an individuals interests are taken into account in moral argument (Scanlo
31、n, 1998, p. 93).3In particular, it is frequently assumed that well-being is one consideration or as some people would argue, the only consideration that should serve as an end, and not just a means for public policy. Here I will take it for granted that when proponents of subjective measures talk ab
32、out such measures as representing well-being, they use the term in the core sense (Angner, 2009a, in press). First, as indicated above, subjective measures are often presented as alternatives to other measures of welfare or well-being; this would make little sense if, in fact, subjective measures we
33、re not intended to represent that which the other measures were designed to represent viz. welfare or well-being. Second, the proponents concept of well-being plays the very same role as that played by the core concept: those who defend the use of subjective measures of wellbeing often emphasize tha
34、t they think of well-being as that which is ultimately good for the individual, as that which is worth promoting in the life of others, and as a central (sometimes the only) ultimate goal for public policy (cf. Diener & Seligman, 2004, quoted above).Third, a number of proponents explicitly cite clas
35、sical philosophical literature in enthusiastic agreement while signaling that they use “well-being” and/or “happiness” in the same sense as philosophers do (Kahneman, Wakker,&Sarin, 1997; Layard, 2005; Watson, 1930).Over the years, philosophers have tried to shed light on the concept of well-being b
36、y developing and defending various accounts, or conceptions of well-being. Here, I follow Parfit (1984, pp.493502) in dividing such accounts into three main classes: mental state accounts, preference-satisfaction or desire-fulfillment accounts, and objective-list accounts.4 According to mental-state
37、 accounts, well-being is a “mental state” or a “state of mind.” Because these accounts all see welfare “as having to enter our experience,” they are said to satisfy the experience requirement (Griffin, 1986, p. 13). Scanlon writes: “Experiential theories hold that the quality of life for the person
38、who lives it is completely determined by its experiential quality,” where “experiential quality” refers to “what it would be like to live it” (Scanlon, 1998, pp. 97, 99). On this view, then, subjectively felt experience is both necessary and sufficient for a persons well-being. According to desire-f
39、ulfillment or preference-satisfaction accounts, by contrast, a person is well off to the extent that her desires are fulfilled and/or her preferences are satisfied. Scanlon puts it this way:Desire theories reject the experience requirement and allow that a persons life can be made better and worse n
40、ot only by changes in that persons states of consciousness but also by changes elsewhere in the world which fulfill that persons preferences (Scanlon, 1993, p. 186).Such accounts do not require that a person who is well off experience any feelings of happiness or satisfaction. What they do require i
41、s that her desires are fulfilled (or that her preferences are satisfied), which does not come down to the same thing. The two kinds of account described so far are frequently referred to as subjective accounts, because they describe a persons well-being as (at least partly) a function of his or her
42、feelings, experiences, desires, and so on. According to so-called objective accounts, by contrast, a persons well-being does not depend on such subjective factors. On such accounts, “certain things are good or bad for beings, independently in at least some cases of whether they are desired or whethe
43、r they give rise to pleasurable experiences” (Chappell & Crisp, 1998,p. 553). Identifying the list of things that are good for people regardless of what they want is notoriously difficult, but one provisional list of such things includes “moral goodness, rational activity, the development of ones ab
44、ilities, having children and being a good parent, knowledge, and the awareness of true beauty” (Parfit, 1984,p. 499). Obviously, there are many versions of accounts of each kind.The tri-partite division permits us to capture a major difference between subjective measures of well-being, traditional e
45、conomic welfare measures, and welfare indicators inspired by the capability approach. It has been noted elsewhere that traditional economic welfare measures are based on preference-satisfaction accounts of well-being (Angner, 2009a,b, in press; Harsanyi, 1982; Hausman & McPherson, 2006). This is evi
46、dent, among other things, from the fact that welfare economists traditionally have defended their measures by showing that they are utility functions, that is, that they are indices of preference satisfaction. It has also been noted that measures inspired by the capability approach are based on obje
47、ctive-list accounts of well-being (Nussbaum, 2008; Sen, 1987). This is clear, among other things, from the assumption that certain things in particular, having a large capability set are thought to be good for a person regardless of whether those things would make the person happier, and of whether
48、the person desires them.5Meanwhile, it is fairly obvious that many proponents of subjective measures think of well-being as a mental state. There is abundant evidence, for one thing, that they adhere to the experience requirement. In the literature on subjective measures,well-being is often describe
49、d as a matter exclusively of individual subjective, hedonic, or affective experience. For example, David G. Myers quotes Madame de la Fayette as saying: “If one thinks that one is happy, that is enough to be happy,” and adds that “like Madame de La Fayette, social scientists view well-being as a state of mind. Well-being, sometimes called subjective well-being to emphasize the point, is a pervasive sense that life is good” (Myers,1992, pp. 23, 27). Myers evidently takes well-being to be something tho