The four qualities of life ordering concepts and measures of the good life
Authors: Ruut Veenhoven
Publication Year: 2000
Last Updated: 2017-06-20
Journal: Journal Of Happiness Studies
Keywords: quality-of-life, wellbeing, happiness, life
Abstract:
The terms 'quality-of-life', 'wellbeing' and 'happiness' denote different meanings; sometimes they are used as an umbrella term for all of value, and the other times to denote special merits.
This paper is about the specific meanings of the terms. It proposes a classification based on two bipartitions: between life 'chances' and life 'results', and between 'outer' and 'inner' qualities. Together these dichotomies imply four qualities of life: 1) livability of the environment, 2) life-ability of the individual, 3) external utility of life and 4) inner appreciation of life.
This fourfold matrix is applied in three ways: firstly, to place related notions and alternative classifications, secondly to explore substantive meanings in various measures for quality of life and thirdly to find out whether quality-of-life can be measured comprehensively. This last question is answered in the negative. Current sum-scores make little sense. The most inclusive summary measure is still how long and happily people live.
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