Capabilities and Happiness
Capabilities and Happiness

Author: Luigino Bruni

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2008-10-30

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 0191559717

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Few would dispute that the well-being of individuals is one of the most desirable aims of human actions. However, approaches on how to define, measure, evaluate, and promote well-being differ widely. The conventional economic approach takes income (or the power to acquire market goods) as the most important indicator for well-being, and the utility function as the formal device for positive and normative analysis. However, this approach to well-being has been questioned for being seriously limited and other approaches have arisen. The capability approach to well-being, which has been developed during the last two decades by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, and the Happiness Approach to well-being, championed by Richard Easterlin, both provide an alternative. Both approaches come from different traditions and have developed independently, but nevertheless aim to overcome the rigid boundaries of the conventional economic approach to well-being. Given these common aims, it is surprising that little comparative work has been undertaken across these approaches. This book aims to correct this by providing the reader with contributions from leading names associated with both approaches, as well as contributions which evaluate the approaches and contrast one with the other.

Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice

Author: Ingrid Robeyns

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

Published: 2017-12-11

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1783744243

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How do we evaluate ambiguous concepts such as wellbeing, freedom, and social justice? How do we develop policies that offer everyone the best chance to achieve what they want from life? The capability approach, a theoretical framework pioneered by the philosopher and economist Amartya Sen in the 1980s, has become an increasingly influential way to think about these issues. Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined is both an introduction to the capability approach and a thorough evaluation of the challenges and disputes that have engrossed the scholars who have developed it. Ingrid Robeyns offers her own illuminating and rigorously interdisciplinary interpretation, arguing that by appreciating the distinction between the general capability approach and more specific capability theories or applications we can create a powerful and flexible tool for use in a variety of academic disciplines and fields of policymaking. This book provides an original and comprehensive account that will appeal to scholars of the capability approach, new readers looking for an interdisciplinary introduction, and those interested in theories of justice, human rights, basic needs, and the human development approach.

Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness
Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness

Author: Sebastiano Bavetta

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-10-06

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1139992597

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This book is about the relationship between different concepts of freedom and happiness. The book's authors distinguish three concepts for which an empirical measure exists: opportunity to choose (negative freedom), capability to choose (positive freedom), and autonomy to choose (autonomy freedom). They also provide a comprehensive account of the relationship between freedom and well-being by comparing channels through which freedoms affect quality of life. The book also explores whether the different conceptions of freedom complement or replace each other in the determination of the level of well-being. In so doing, the authors make freedoms a tool for policy making and are able to say which conception is the most effective for well-being, as circumstances change. The results have implications for a justification of a free society: maximizing freedoms is good for its favorable consequences upon individual well-being, a fundamental value for the judgment of human advantage.

New Frontiers of the Capability Approach
New Frontiers of the Capability Approach

Author: Flavio Comim

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-10-25

Total Pages: 671

ISBN-13: 1108427804

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Leading scholars from a range of disciplines contribute to an inclusive discussion of the latest techniques and issues examined by the capability approach. It will appeal to readers across academic backgrounds including development studies, economics, sociology, education, urban planning, political science, geography, public policy and management.

Capabilities and Happiness
Capabilities and Happiness

Author: Luigino Bruni

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-10-30

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0199532141

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Approaches to well-being have been hotly debated across the social sciences, with most challenging the conventional economic approach which uses income as a key indicator of happiness. This volume compares and contrasts two such approaches, the Capability and Happiness Approach, via a series of interdisciplinary papers from top names in the field.

The Idea of Justice
The Idea of Justice

Author: Amartya Sen

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2011-05-31

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 0674060474

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Presents an analysis of what justice is, the transcendental theory of justice and its drawbacks, and a persuasive argument for a comparative perspective on justice that can guide us in the choice between alternatives.

The Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness

Author: Carol L. Graham

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2012-07-25

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 081572439X

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In The Pursuit of Happiness, renowned economist Carol Graham explores what we know about the determinants of happiness and clearly presents both the promise and the potential pitfalls of injecting the "economics of happiness" into public policymaking. While the book spotlights the innovative contributions of happiness research to the dismal science, it also raises a cautionary note about the issues that still need to be addressed before policymakers can make best use of them.

The Capability Approach
The Capability Approach

Author: Flavio Comim

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-04-24

Total Pages: 636

ISBN-13: 9780521862875

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The capability approach developed by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has become an important new paradigm in thinking about development. However, despite its theoretical and philosophical attractiveness, it has been less easy to measure or to translate into policy. This volume addresses these issues in the context of poverty and justice. Part I offers a set of conceptual essays that debate the strength of the often misunderstood individual focus of the capability approach. Part II investigates the techniques by which we can measure and compare capabilities, and how we can integrate them into poverty comparisons and policy advice. Finally, Part III looks at how we can apply the capability approach to different regions and contexts. Written by a team of international scholars, The Capability Approach is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students concerned with the debate over the value of the capability approach and its potential applications.

Happiness, Well-being and Sustainability
Happiness, Well-being and Sustainability

Author: Laura Musikanski

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-05-28

Total Pages: 123

ISBN-13: 1000074129

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Happiness, Well-being and Sustainability: A Course in Systems Change is the first textbook bridging the gap between personal happiness and sustainable social change. The book provides a guide for students to increase their skills, literacy and knowledge about connections between a sense of well-being and systems change. Further, it can help students live a life that brings them happiness and contributes to the well-being of others and the sustainability of our planet. The book is presented in seven chapters covering the subjects of systems thinking, personal and societal values, measuring happiness, human needs, ecological sustainability and public policy. In addition, each section includes engaging exercises to empower students to develop their own ideas, prompts for group discussion, suggestions for additional research and an extensive list of resources and references. The book is written in the context of systems thinking with a style that is approachable and accessible. Happiness, Well-being and Sustainability provides essential reading for students in courses on happiness, social change and sustainability studies, and provides a comprehensive framework for instructors looking to initiate courses in this field. A website to support the professors teaching the book is available at : https://www.happycounts.org/coursebook.html

The Philosophy and Psychology of Character and Happiness
The Philosophy and Psychology of Character and Happiness

Author: Nancy E. Snow

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-05

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1135136114

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Since ancient times, character, virtue, and happiness have been central to thinking about how to live well. Yet until recently, philosophers have thought about these topics in an empirical vacuum. Taking up the general challenge of situationism – that philosophers should pay attention to empirical psychology – this interdisciplinary volume presents new essays from empirically informed perspectives by philosophers and psychologists on western as well as eastern conceptions of character, virtue, and happiness, and related issues such as personality, emotion and cognition, attitudes and automaticity. Researchers at the top of their fields offer exciting work that expands the horizons of empirically informed research on topics central to virtue ethics.