Mark Fabian, A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing

Mark Fabian's A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing (OUP, 2022) begins by acknowledging the significant contributions of subjective well-being scholarship over the past four decades; among them are its empirical orientation and the distinction between evaluative and experienced well-being. However, Fabian identifies several shortcomings in the field. Most notably, he argues persuasively that there has been a lack of serious attempts to develop a robust theory of subjective well-being grounded in both philosophy and positive psychology. Fabian highlights methodological flaws, particularly in the conceptualization and measurement of subjective well-being, which are hindered by issues like adaptation and scale norming. Finally, Fabian critiques the normative foundations of well-being policies, which often adopt a social planner perspective. Such policies frequently fail to engage with people's own understandings of well-being or their preferences for such policies, leaving them open to critiques of expertocracy and paternalism.

Find the full book review here.