S3 Ep 3 - Anna Alexandrova on 'Philosophy of Well-Being Science'

Today's episode features Professor Anna Alexandrova from the University of Cambridge discussing a field she has pioneered - the Philosophy of Well-Being Science.

As Anna points out, well-being and happiness are now established phenomena for scientific research, particularly in the disciplines of psychology and economics. But does current scientific research produce knowledge that is properly about well-being? What kind of well-being? Should the goal be a single concept and single theory of well-being?

Anna persuasively argues that a ‘one-concept-or-one-theory-fits-all’ attitude is wrong-headed.

Instead, Anna suggests researchers should invest in tailoring the concept of ‘well-being’ for specific people in specific contexts. Furthermore, we must take into consideration the components of well-being, or better put – of human flourishing - that are meaningful to the people within those groups.

Relevant links for Anna:

• Profile - Anna Alexandrova | HPS | University of Cambridge
• Book - A Philosophy for the Science of Well-Being | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
• Current work - The Many Dimensions of Wellbeing - Bennett Institute for Public Policy
• Media - Interviews and popular writings 

The transcript for this episode can be found at: https://www.hpsunimelb.org/post/s3-ep3-anna-alexandrova-transcript

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This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne and the Hansen Little Public Humanities Grant scheme.

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