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Well‐being and Philosophy of Science
Author(s) -
Alexandrova Anna
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/phc3.12203
Subject(s) - epistemology , philosophy of science , natural (archaeology) , natural science , process (computing) , sociology , psychology , engineering ethics , computer science , philosophy , engineering , archaeology , history , operating system
This article is a mutual introduction of the science of well‐being to philosophy of science and an explanation of how the two disciplines can benefit each other. In the process, I argue that the science of well‐being is not helpfully viewed as a social or a natural, but rather as a mixed, science. Hence, its methodology will have to attend to its specific features. I discuss two of its methodological problems: justifying the role of values, and validating measures. I suggest that tackling them calls for developing mid‐level rather than high theories of well‐being.