Writings on well-being span multiple fields and disciplines, including positive psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, economics, sociology, social and cultural anthropology, cultural studies, philosophy, theology, ethics and ecology. Given this breadth, our intention is not to provide a literature review but to synthesise some complex evidence, contentious theories and speculative conclusions from a range of disciplines and a variety of thinkers.
Inevitably, much is over-simplified in framing these diverse literatures in terms of three main strands or themes. These differ in terms of how ‘the problem’ and its solutions are conceptualised, depending on whether researchers are drawing on psycho-biological, economic, socio-cultural or other forms of knowledge. We find that the nature of what it means to be human is an implicit question within all three themes.
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