Subjective measures of well-being – that is, measures based on answers to questions like: "Taking things all together, how would you say things are these days?" – emerged in the study of marital happiness and educational psychology shortly after WWI, and have since been used for a variety of purposes by psychologists, psychiatrists, gerontologists, economists, and other social and behavioral scientists.

By now, these measures have inspired a sizeable body of work – sometimes referred to as "eupathics," "the science of happiness," or "positive psychology" – that aspires to shed light on the determinants and distribution of happiness, satisfaction, and other "positive" mental states. As of late, proponents of subjective measures have argued that subjective measures of well-being should be used as a guide for public policy and that governments, to this end, should establish so-called National Well-Being Accounts, designed to track the dynamics of well-being in the population.

In spite of psychologists' inroads into what has traditionally been regarded as philosophical territory, this body of work has only recently attracted the attention of historians and philosophers of science. Given that the empirical literature raises a host of interesting issues, this is fertile territory for further work. The aim of this workshop is to shed light on the historical origins and philosophical foundations of subjective measures of well-being in particular and the science of happiness / positive psychology in general.

Goals include to trace the historical roots of psychologists' efforts; to explore various foundational assumptions that go into the enterprise and to assess their relative plausibility; to examine the manner in which philosophical analysis (whether inspired by ethics, political philosophy, the philosophy of science, or other branches of philosophy) can inform empirical work; and to investigate how empirical results might feed into philosophical argument.

In order to maximize the amount of discussion, presentations will be relatively short. Papers will be be posted below in due time.

All sessions take place in the Bevill Building on the UAB Campus (845 19th Street South), Birmingham, AL.
Saturday, February 2
9:00-10:00	Felipe De Brigard University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill	'If you like it, does it matter if it's real?' [Fulltext]
10:00-11:00	Valerie Tiberius University of Minnesota	'Unpleasant Realities and the Prudential Good' [Fulltext]
11:30-12:30	Antti Kauppinen University of St Andrews	'Why the Shape of a Life Matters'
2:30-3:30	Eranda Jayawickreme, James Pawelski, and Martin E.P. Seligman University of Pennsylvania	'Happiness: Positive Psychology and Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach' [Fulltext]
3:30-4:30	Dan Haybron Saint Louis University	'Emotional State Theories of Happiness' [Fulltext]
5:00-6:00	Don Ross University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Cape Town	'Let Bentham stay dead: Why economics is not psychology'
Sunday, February 3
9:00-10:00	Anna Alexandrova University of Missouri–St Louis	'Well-Being and Practical Interests' [Fulltext]
10:00-11:00	Erik Angner University of Alabama at Birmingham	‘Is it Possible to Measure Happiness?’