Well-Being in Philosophy, Psychology, and Economics

Well-being has traditionally been a topic of philosophical study, but in recent decades it has become an important concern in other fields as well, particularly psychology and economics. Empirical research on well-being and happiness has become very influential in the policy world, in which their measurement is increasingly used to guide social and economic policy. In this chapter, I will introduce and discuss the study of well-being and happiness in philosophy, psychology, and economics. These fields have been chosen because they are the ones in which well-being has been studied most extensively. Next to introducing the study of well-being in these fields, I will also discuss academic studies of the relation between well-being and technology.