In this episode, a philosopher of science from Cambridge offers us a cautiously optimistic guide to the science of happiness. Dr Anna Alexandrova, the author of A Philosophy for the Science of Well-being, and Ilari discuss questions such as:

• What do happiness questionnaires measure?
• Are rich countries happier than poorer ones?
• Should the science of happiness measure concepts such as “flourishing”? Or focus on simple questions like “how satisfied are you with your life”?
• Why psychologists and economists are averse to qualitative measures? When is this a problem?
• Why are some scholars so pessimistic about the science of happiness?
• Dr Alexandrova's experience of growing up in the Soviet Union and post-soviet Russia
• Is Ilari actually from the world’s happiest country?

Names mentioned

• Dan Hayburn (philosopher at St Louis University)
• Max Weber (sociologist 1864-1920)
• Polly Mitchell (philosopher at KCL)
• Thomas Kuhn (philosopher of science, 1922-1966)
• Johanna Thoma (philosopher at LSE)
• Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway (authors of Merchants of Doubt)
• Mark Fabian (political theorists at Cambridge)
• Jeffrey Sachs (economist at Columbia University)

Terms mentioned

• Utilitarianism
• Easterlin paradox
• World Happiness Report
• WELLBY (measure adopted by the UK government)
• “Participatory methods” (in construct validation)
• Turn To Us (UK-based anti-poverty charity)

Get in touch

• Form: https://on-humans.podcastpage.io/contact
• Email: makela dot ilari at outlook dot com