Fletcher Guy. - The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being

THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF PHILOSOPHY OF WELL-BEING

The concept of well-being is one of the oldest and most important topics in philosophy and ethics, going back to ancient Greek philosophy. Following the boom in happiness studies in the last few years it has moved to centre stage, grabbing media headlines and the attention of scientists, psychologists and economists. Yet little is actually known about well-being and it is an idea that is often poorly articulated.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being provides a comprehensive, outstanding guide and reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject.

Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six parts:

well-being in the history of philosophy

current theories of well-being, including hedonism and perfectionism

examples of well-being and its opposites, including friendship and virtue and pain and death

theoretical issues, such as well-being and value, harm, identity and well-being and children

well-being in moral and political philosophy

well-being and related subjects, including law, economics and medicine.

Essential reading for students and researchers in ethics and political philosophy, it will also be an invaluable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology, politics and sociology.

Guy Fletcher is a lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His current research is in metaethics, on moral language and moral psychology. Another strand of research is in political philosophy, on hate speech. He also has a persistent side-interest in John Stuart Mill. His book, The Philosophy of Well-Being: An Introduction is forthcoming with Routledge.

Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy

Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy are state-of-the-art surveys of emerging, newly refreshed, and important fields in philosophy, providing accessible yet thorough assessments of key problems, themes, thinkers, and recent developments in research.

All chapters for each volume are specially commissioned, and written by leading scholars in the field. Carefully edited and organised, Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy provide indispensable reference tools for students and researchers seeking a comprehensive overview of new and exciting topics in philosophy. They are also valuable teaching resources as accompaniments to textbooks, anthologies and research-oriented publications.

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First published 2016
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Guy Fletcher, editorial and selection matter; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of Guy Fletcher to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

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ISBN: 978-0-415-71453-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68226-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo Std
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

Anna Alexandrova teaches philosophy of science in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, UK, where she is also a Fellow of Kings College. She writes on the virtues and vices of idealised modelling in economics and on the promises and pitfalls of the scientific study of well-being. She received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego in 2006 and up to 2011 taught at the University of MissouriSt. Louis. Her 2008 article Making Models Count won