Abstract

This paper develops and defends the claim that the promotion of human well-being is a philosophical basis or rationale for health services. It first sketches a case for this thesis, then defends it against various objections arising from the contrary position, here dubbed The Sceptical View. Later sections of the paper elaborate on the meaning of ‘well-being’, the nature of well-being, and the scope of appropriate health service concern with well-being. In particular, distinctions are made between ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ well-being, and between well-being and its various measures. These discussions generate further defences of the philosophical centrality of human well-being to health services