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Two Theory Of Wellbeing

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The first theory of well-being is the mental state theory. This theory argues that one’s mental state is the sole source of their wellbeing, regardless of the actual content of their life. A subtype of the mental state theory is welfare hedonism. This view posits that wellbeing comes from the amount of pleasure one experiences in their life. By adding up the amount of pleasure one experiences and subtracting the pain they experience, one is able to calculate their total “wellbeing”. There are different subtypes of hedonism, from psychological to ethical hedonism. Additionally, quantitative hedonists argue that all pleasures are equally valuable, where qualitative hedonists argue that some things create a state of “higher” or “better” pleasure than others. …show more content…

This theory argues that wellbeing comes from the actualization of one’s preferences in their life. These theorists argue that it does not matter what one prefers or desires out of their life or the universe. All that matters is that these preferences or desires are satisfied. For example, if someone desires to live in a certain country, then moving there will satisfy their preference and therefore lead to individual well-being. Preference theorists are categorized into ideal preference theorists and actual preference theorists. Ideal theorists differentiate one’s current desires with their ‘ideal’ ones, or the desires they would have in a perfect universe Actual preference theorists believe that whether or not one’s desires are irrational, misinformed, or harmful is irrelevant. These theorists argue that no matter what, actualization leads to

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