Sen and Aristotle on Wellbeing

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version
Author(s)
Ransome, William
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2010
Size

114697 bytes

File type(s)

application/pdf

Location
License
Abstract

A significant body of research and analysis concerning wellbeing has emerged across a number of social research disciplines, yet the concept of wellbeing does not admit of any unified meaning. Philosophical accounts of wellbeing are traditionally divided into three categories: hedonistic, desire-satisfaction and objective list theories, reflecting longstanding doctrinal divisions in normative ethics. Rejecting the foundational monism associated with these approaches, Amartya Sen has proposed a pluralist 'capabilities' approach to personal wellbeing based on freedom of choice and the Aristotelian notion of a 'function'. Recent Australian wellbeing research also shows promising signs of moving beyond reductive income-based metrics towards plural indicators of poverty and social disadvantage. This paper reprises Aristotle's distinctive account of perfect wellbeing (eudaimonia) in the Nicomachean Ethics and investigates Sen's approach in its light, suggesting that future Australian research in the spirit of Sen's pluralism may benefit from Aristotelian insights into the 'thickness' of freedom implicated in personal wellbeing.

Journal Title

Australian Journal of Social Issues

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

45

Issue

1

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
DOI
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2010 ACOSS. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Social Philosophy

Studies in Human Society

Persistent link to this record
Citation
Collections