In this episode, a philosopher of science from Cambridge offers us a cautiously optimistic guide to the science of happiness. Dr Anna Alexandrova, the author of A Philosophy for the Science of Well-being, and Ilari discuss questions such as:
- What do happiness questionnaires measure?
- Are rich countries happier than poorer ones?
- Should the science of happiness measure concepts such as “flourishing”? Or focus on simple questions like “how satisfied are you with your life”?
- Why psychologists and economists are averse to qualitative measures? When is this a problem?
- Why are some scholars so pessimistic about the science of happiness?
- Dr Alexandrova's experience of growing up in the Soviet Union and post-soviet Russia
- Is Ilari actually from the world’s happiest country?
Names mentioned
- Dan Hayburn (philosopher at St Louis University)
- Max Weber (sociologist 1864-1920)
- Polly Mitchell (philosopher at KCL)
- Thomas Kuhn (philosopher of science, 1922-1966)
- Johanna Thoma (philosopher at LSE)
- Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway (authors of Merchants of Doubt)
- Mark Fabian (political theorists at Cambridge)
- Jeffrey Sachs (economist at Columbia University)
Terms mentioned
- Utilitarianism
- Easterlin paradox
- World Happiness Report
- WELLBY (measure adopted by the UK government)
- “Participatory methods” (in construct validation)
- Turn To Us (UK-based anti-poverty charity)
Get in touch
