Philosophy of Well-Being for the Social Sciences

Abstract

In this chapter, the author provides an introduction to philosophical work on well-being. He begins by explaining the specific kinds of questions that philosophers are interested in when it comes to well-being. The author then seeks to explain the role of thought experiments in philosophical work on well-being. He explains why such cases are useful and nongratuitous and describes the methodological assumptions that underlie their use. Finally, the author explains how philosophers seek to preserve a common subject matter for debate—well-being—even in the presence of radical disagreement about which theory is correct.