It might be a sensible idea to analyse what makes some
people review their lives as a happy life. Happiness and well-being are
concepts which have distinct differences and still share significant
similarities, therefore making it difficult to separate one from the other.
Feelings of happiness are perhaps more private and temporary in nature and
therefore hard to capture and conceptualise. Is there any added value of
“tracking” how a person feels about their life? The Stiglitz Commission (2009)
report argues that: “A long
philosophical tradition views individuals as the best judges of their own
conditions. This approach is closely linked to the utilitarian tradition but
has a broader appeal due to the strong presumption in many streams of ancient
and modern culture that enabling people to be “happy” and “satisfied” with
their life is a universal goal of human existence.”
It appears that the current trend in happiness research is
in line with the Stiglitz Commission’s argument. In recent years there has been
increased academic research in this field and many articles have been written
to explore subjective well-being. For example, the interdisciplinary journal
devoted to understanding of subjective well-being called ‘Journal of Happiness
Studies’ has published many research articles exploring subjective well-being.
(http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/well-being/journal/10902) Therefore, subjective
well-being indicators are currently playing a big role in well-being research,
but can well-being and happiness be seen as basic human rights? Do we have
right to be happy?
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