Introduction—The Science of Well-Being: Reviews and Theoretical Articles by Ed Diener

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, and even before that, people have wondered about the nature of “the good life.” What is it that makes life desirable? What determines a high quality of life? One answer to these questions is that a person feels and thinks his or her life is desirable regardless of how others see it. This phenomenon has come to be called subjective well-being, which refers to the fact that the person subjectively believes his or her life is desirable, pleasant, and good. Throughout history different philosophers have placed varying weight on the subjective definition of the good life, some arguing that the most desirable life can be defined by a list of characteristics such as virtue, and others suggesting that pleasurable feelings are the essence of the good life. Even when pleasant feelings were the focus, some argued that the best approach was an educated hedonism, whereas others argued that stoicism was the best policy. Only in the last several decades have scholars of the good life turned to the empirical methods of science.