Hybrid Accounts of Well-Being
Edited by Christopher Woodard (Nottingham University)
About this topic
Summary | Hybrid theories answer the explanatory question about well-being: what makes something a constituent of a subject's well-being? The most common hybrids combine elements of subjective and objective answers to this question. These subjective-objective hybrids claim that what makes something good for a subject is that (a) she has some positive attitude towards it, and (b) it is objectively good. However, other kinds of hybrid are possible. For example, subjective-subjective hybrids point to two or more kinds of pro-attitude. Moreover, hybrid theories need not claim that each different explanatory factor is a necessary condition of well-being. Thus a hybrid theory could claim that pleasure in worthless things counts for something, but pleasure in valuable things counts for more. |
Key works | Two influential early discussions are Appendix I in Parfit 1984 and Raz 1986. Adams 1999 Chapter 3 offers a fuller version of a subjective-objective hybrid, developing the idea that well-being consists in enjoyment of the excellent. Kagan 2009 identifies and discusses many issues involved in developing this sort of view, including difficulties specifying exactly what is involved in 'enjoyment'. Kraut 1994 proposes that well-being consists in loving things worth loving. Wolf 1997 argues that one aspect of a good life, its meaningfulness, consists in engagement in worthwhile projects. For an example of a subjective-subjective hybrid, see Hawkins 2010. For criticism of joint necessity hybrids, see Hooker 2015. Lauinger 2013 responds to one form of this criticism. For exploration of other forms of hybrid, see Sarch 2012. |
Introductions | An introductory survey of hybrid theories is provided in Woodard 2015. |
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General Editors:
David Bourget (Western Ontario) David Chalmers (ANU, NYU) Area Editors: David Bourget Gwen Bradford Berit Brogaard Margaret Cameron David Chalmers James Chase Rafael De Clercq Ezio Di Nucci Esa Diaz-Leon Barry Hallen Hans Halvorson Jonathan Ichikawa Michelle Kosch Øystein Linnebo JeeLoo Liu Paul Livingston Brandon Look Manolo Martínez Matthew McGrath Michiru Nagatsu Susana Nuccetelli Giuseppe Primiero Jack Alan Reynolds Darrell P. Rowbottom Aleksandra Samonek Constantine Sandis Howard Sankey Jonathan Schaffer Thomas Senor Robin Smith Daniel Star Jussi Suikkanen Aness Kim Webster Other editors Contact us Learn more about PhilPapers |