Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2025

Measuring Biophysical and Psychological Stress Levels Following Visitation to Three Locations with Differing Levels of Nature
Published on: June 19, 2019
Can science help discover the nature of well-being?
1Philosophy Department, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. antonin.broi@gmail.com.
Abstract:
In recent years the study of well-being has attracted considerable attention, fostering hope that the scientific community will ultimately succeed in discovering its very nature, thereby emulating successful scientific projects in other disciplines. However, there have been recurring worries about how to measure and define well-being. In this context, Hersch (Br J Philos Sci 73:1045-1065, 2022) has recently argued that we could progressively alleviate these worries through an iterative dialogue between theory and measurement, by seeing them as stemming from a coordination problem. In this article, I argue that the concept of well-being fails to meet the prerequisites for Hersch's approach. If the latter is the best defense of the capacity of science to uncover the nature of well-being, it follows that the science of well-being should probably relinquish this ambition.
Related Concept Videos
Traits, Mood, and Subjective Wellbeing
Neuroticism and...
Dimensions of Health and Illness
The Scientific Method
Psychology as a Science
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...

