The Meanings of ‘Happiness’ and What They Mean for Policymaking Dan Weijers 20 October 2011

Well-Being What makes someone's life go better/best for them? The prudentially good life The life that is good for the one living it Well-being

Happiness ≠ well-being? Some accounts just use happiness –Some don’t use it at all Key Questions: –What are the ultimate bearers of prudential value for us? –What directly makes our lives go better for us?

Policy- making ↑ Well-being (WB) Fairness Sustainability Equality Subjective WBObjective WB OverallDomain-Specific Mental state/ hedonism Life Satisfaction theories Objective List/ Flourishing Quality of Life Indicators Traditional Economic Indicators Health/ healthcare Freedom Trust Safety Environ- ment Education Equality Production Income Employ- ment Justice Wealth Survey Pager Day reco- nstruction Survey “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?” Survey Rate agreement “I have good friends” HAPPINESS Happiness Brain scan Behav- ioural

Mental State Theories Folk: get pleasure now! Philosophers: maximise pleasure over your entire life Key: All that matters is how you feel (your mental states) Well-beingHappiness+ve net balance of good over bad mental states Especially hedonism

What about Truth & Freedom? Compare two lives –Same experiences –Different reality Double agent partner Sponsored children all died Whose life is better? What should we do about a happy slave?

Measuring Mental State Happiness Survey Questions –“How happy are you these days?” Pager method –“What are you doing now and how are you feeling?” Day reconstruction method –Note down activities and mood from previous day

Life Satisfaction Theories Based on desire/preference-satisfaction Informed: adequately informed desires only Ideal: desires that fit some objective criteria only Key: All that matters is getting what you want Well-beingHappiness Having most or more of your desires satisfied Sometimes

Is the Satisfaction of Our Desires Good for us? Actual and informed desires are often for things that are, on balance, bad for us! Ideal desires require some kind of objective standard We choose to desire things because we think that their satisfaction will provide us with some value or meaning D-S accounts put the value in the satisfaction, not the ultimate reason for having the desire

Measuring Life Satisfaction Happiness Survey Questions: –“All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole?” –“Compared to what it could have been, how satisfied are you with your life?”

Flourishing Theories Developing excellencies in one or all of your species’ fundamental traits Only some versions include or require happiness/enjoyment of life Aristotle: Flourishing is the soul expressing virtue –Virtues are ‘golden means’ E.g. cowardice – courage - rashness Key: All that matters is being the best you can be (given that you’re a human) Well-beingFlourishingDeveloping & expressing natural capacities

Flourishing = Objective List But, which traits do you prioritise? –Is excellence in reasoning or long-distance running better for us? Unnatural things can be good for us too! –E.g. Pacemakers, wings etc. We end up with a list of things that are good for us

Objective List = ‘Objective’ List A list of the ultimate goods Most objective list theories lack justification for their irreducible goods E.g. Ross’ account: –Knowledge, Pleasure, Virtue and the proper apportionment of pleasure to virtue Can’t we explain knowledge with pleasure or desire-satisfaction? Why is it ultimately better for me that my pleasure comes from virtue?

Who Are We to Write the Objective List? Is there any objective truth to what constitutes the prudential good life?

Measuring Objective List/Flourishing Well-Being Survey Questions: –“Rate the extent to which you agree with the following statements” I maintain many good friendships My life is meaningful I am a virtuous person I am rarely deceived I am very knowledgeable I am free to act as I please (when not harming others) I live in a pristine environment

Policy- making ↑ Well-being (WB) Fairness Sustainability Equality Subjective WBObjective WB OverallDomain-Specific Mental state/ hedonism Life Satisfaction theories Objective List/ Flourishing Quality of Life Indicators Traditional Economic Indicators Health/ healthcare Freedom Trust Safety Environ- ment Education Equality Production Income Employ- ment Justice Wealth Survey Pager Day reco- nstruction Survey “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?” Survey Rate agreement “I have good friends” HAPPINESS Happiness Brain scan Behav- ioural

SWB Survey Problems Appraisal biases –Test-specific –Greater context Aspirational biases

Conceptual Problem It’s so subjective! Is there an objective basis for happiness? Brain scans Behavioural analysis (e.g. smiles)

Case: Income vs. Happiness Measures of income: –Used by economists & politicians –Key indicator of ‘national progress’ Income is an indicator of ability to satisfy preferences More income is good because it makes you more free and more happy

Does $$ Make Us Happy?

Materialism Doesn’t Pay Very High

Why Not Measure Happiness & Freedom? But which measures to use? Which measures capture the most of the prudential good life? Is it more important to be happy or satisfied? In a capitalist democracy, we might have to put these things to a vote or let the market decide…

Policy- making ↑ Well-being (WB) Fairness Sustainability Equality Subjective WBObjective WB OverallDomain-Specific Mental state/ hedonism Life Satisfaction theories Objective List/ Flourishing Quality of Life Indicators Traditional Economic Indicators Health/ healthcare Freedom Trust Safety Environ- ment Education Equality Production Income Employ- ment Justice Wealth Survey Pager Day reco- nstruction Survey “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?” Survey Rate agreement “I have good friends” HAPPINESS Happiness Brain scan Behav- ioural