Will_Newsome comments on Be Happier - Less Wrong

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Comment author: Klevador 15 April 2012 12:22:26PM *  6 points [-]

Re Equivocation: Good point. The important distinction seems to be between hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being.

Found on the web:

Current research on well-being has been derived from two general perspectives: the hedonic approach, which focuses on happiness and defines well-being in terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance; and the eudaimonic approach, which focuses on meaning and self-realization and defines well-being in terms of the degree to which a person is fully functioning. These two views have given rise to different research foci and a body of knowledge that is in some areas divergent and in others complementary.

The thrust of this post is mostly for hedonic well-being (or 'experienced happiness').

Comment author: Will_Newsome 15 April 2012 01:08:57PM 4 points [-]

(For the "meaning and self-realization" side of things one should check out transpersonal psychology. Here's an abridged version of William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience".)

Comment author: Klevador 15 April 2012 01:18:57PM 1 point [-]

I believe it's more mundane than that. From what I've read, eudaimonic well-being (aka life satisfaction) is measured by self-report tests (eg. "How satisfied are you with your life?")

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