Lesson Proper for Week 1  Variantism maintains that there may not be a single

WELL – BEING correct theory of well-being to do all the jobs

1. INTRO
 phrase ‘science sociale’ was coined by the French 5. THEORIES OF PRUDENTIAL GOOD
constitutional theorist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès in
1789 in his pamphlet on the third estate.  Derek Parfit Oxford philosopher distinguished
 Sieyès, social science was to provide the justification between mental state, desire fulfilment, and ‘objective
for democratic decision-making based on majority list’ theories of well-being
rule, for this is the best way to marry the selfish  Mental state theorists, name suggest, take our mental
interests of all. states, and only them, to constitute our well-being
 1798, Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, a something to be good, this good has to have a special
statesman and the author of the Napoleonic Code, in relationship, it has to engage, or resonate with, or be
his Discours sur la science sociale explicitly responsive to the priorities of a person.
identified social science with the means of securing  Desire fulfilment something to be good for me, this
happiness (bonheur) for all (Sonenscher 2009) good has to have a special relationship to me, it has to
 Social science began its life as a form of knowledge engage me, or resonate with me, or be responsive to
devoted to the advancement of well-being my priorities, or some such
 Jeremy Bentham
Adam Smith 6. MAJOR CONSTRUCTS OF WELL-BEING IN
Nicolas de Condorcet THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
James
John Stuart Mill A. Psychological Sciences:
Auguste Comte Big Three theories in philosophy
o Conceived social science as central in the  Hedonic balance’ - ratio of positive to negative
project of bringing about happiness, relieving emotions in a person over time.
suffering, furthering progress  Well-being is life satisfaction - endorsement of
o shaped the subject matter and the the balance of the many values and priorities in
methodologies of the new sciences to serve life
this goal  Well-being with flourishing or eudaimonism -
o well-being to be life satisfaction or happiness understand flourishing not as a unified
or another subjective indicator phenomenon but as encompassing several
o adopt objective person-independent components: a sense of autonomy, mastery,
constructs such as health, consumption, and purpose, connectedness to people
legal protection. Still others combine the B. Economics
two.  traditionally economics operated with a
preference satisfaction view of well-being,
2.THE PROBLEM OF SCIENCE–VALUE  closest to the desire fulfilment view, but does
COORDINATION not restrict preferences in any way.
 What we want is what’s good for us
 Science and philosophy always go together  Welfare economics is a theoretical system
 science and philosophy are entangled in a further way based on this simple (to many philosophers,
 objects include rationality, poverty, health, crime, and dangerously simple) view of well-being
well-being. C. Gerontology and the Medical Sciences
 Science–value coordination—how to do it  a combination of subjective satisfaction and
 how not to—is one of the central problems facing objective functioning,
philosophers of social science  where the latter is under-stood as the ability to go
through one’s day reasonably autonomously
3. THE PHILOSOPHY–SCIENCE DISCONNECT  the standard of functioning is adjusted
specifically by age and the specific illness
D. Child Well-Being
 value philosophers contemplates in well-being is
 all serious measures of well-being for children
called ‘prudential’.
incorporate objective indicators such as medical
 Prudential value is supposed to bear a special
care, family dynamics, accessed to education,
relationship to us: well-being is not merely good, it is
play, adequate food, and hygiene.
also good for us
E. National Well-Being
 theories of prudential value developed by
 Two requirements seem to be crucial to a notion
philosophers have a very tenuous connection to what
of national well-being.
is called ‘well-being’ in the sciences
 First, measure needs to capture the values and
 disconnect between theories of well-being: The first
priorities of the people whose well-being it is
one is a disagreement between philosophers
supposed to represent
 second one a discrepancy between what philosophers
 Second, a measure of national well-being needs
do with the notion of well-being and what everybody
to represent a certain level of consensus, not a
else does with it
mere sum of individual well-beings
 Together two requirements
4. VARIANTISM AND INVARIANTISM ABOUT  explain why, in this context, more than in any
WELL-BEING others, it is particularly important to consult
people on their prudential values and to use these
 Invariantism is the natural default picture: is a single views as the most important basis for a measure.
term such as ‘well-being’ refers to a single unified 7. Conclusion
concept that serves its purpose in all contexts in which  philosophy–science disconnect exists because
we apply the term philosophers talk about well-being in an all-
things-considered sense, whereas scientists and
policy-makers tend to make contextual
evaluations.
WEEK 2
CLIMATE CHANGE A. Economic Analysis of Mitigation Options Adaptation
In its 2007 assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate is one type of response to the threat of future climate change. But it is
Change (IPCC) reaches some clear conclusions: warming of Earth’s also possible to aim ‘earlier’ in the causal chain depicted in Figure 2.1,
climate is now unequivocal, and it is very likely that much of the trying to limit the extent to which future climate change occurs by
warming that occurred since the mid-twentieth century was caused by preventing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases from
increased emission of greenhouse gases from human activities, especially climbing too high in the first place. Such mitigation of climate change
the burning of fossil fuels and the clearing of forests (IPCC 2007). would involve limiting emissions and/or increasing the rate at which
Moreover, the IPCC concludes that, if greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere, e.g. by planting
continue at or above current rates, there is good reason to expect that more trees. International policy discussions have largely focused on
significant additional warming will occur and will be accompanied by mitigation, but agreement on concrete emission targets remains difficult
other changes in climate, such as more frequent heat waves and heavy
precipitation events
1. A Climate Science Perspective ‘Climate’ refers to the totality of a
region’s or planet’s weather conditions over several decades or longer. A
change in climate, then, can be seen only over a relatively long period of
time. For instance, suppose we examine weather conditions recorded for
a region over five consecutive thirty-year periods, and we find that in
each successive period the region experiences warmer night-time
temperatures, more extremely hot days, and more frequent heavy
precipitation events; we might conclude that the region is undergoing
climate change. By contrast, the occurrence of a few cooler-than-average
years in a row or one especially hot and dry summer would not qualify as
climate change, as the timescale considered is too short.
By the late 1980s, climate scientists were expressing serious
concern about anthropogenic climate change. Earth’s climate appeared to
be warming, they said, and increased human emissions of greenhouse
gases might well be causing it. For this, climate scientists must develop
global temperature datasets; there is no thermometer from which they can
to achieve, in part because of concerns about the economic costs of
simply read off the average near-surface temperature of Earth’s
meeting such targets.
atmosphere, so temperature records from around the world have to be
B. Science and Politics The notion of consensus in
collected, subjected to quality control, and carefully combined.
science has also been explored and problematized in connection with the
Nevertheless, some conclusions about future climate change
issue of anthropogenic climate change. The IPCC aims to produce
are not very uncertain. There is good reason to expect global warming to
consensus reports, and the existence of a broader scientific consensus
continue as the twenty-first century unfolds, since even the effects of past
regarding key conclusions (e.g. that climate change is occurring and that
emissions have not been felt fully yet, due to ocean-related lags in the
human activities are contributing significantly) is often emphasized. On
climate system. Likewise, the greater the accumulation of greenhouse
the flip side, there have been repeated efforts to deny this consensus,
gases in the atmosphere, the warmer Earth’s climate is expected to
often by pointing to petitions signed by scientists who purportedly reject
become. According to the IPCC, if emissions continue at or above
various conclusions about climate change. This has sparked discussion
current rates, it is very likely that the twenty-first century will bring
over the nature of legitimate consensus, how it can be measured or
many changes in climate that are larger than those seen in the twentieth
demonstrated, and how it relates to opinion, proof, and evidence.
century. They further conclude that it is very likely that hot extremes,
3. Some Priority Topics for Future Research Many
heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more
important questions related to anthropogenic climate change stand in
frequent, and likely that hurricanes and typhoons will become more
need of further attention from social scientists. Three research areas that
intense
also raise interesting philosophical questions are very briefly discussed
2. Important Contributions from the Social Sciences Climate
here: social change; equity and justice; and assessment, judgment, and
scientists study the causal links between greenhouse gas emissions and
justification.
changes in weather and climate. But these links are just a portion of the
A. Social Change Climate scientists have made clear that
larger causal chain that is of interest in the study of anthropogenic cli-
continued high rates of greenhouse gas emission may well
mate change.
bring futures with very significant climatic change, the
question is how to move beyond it, especially if adequately
responding to climate change will require significant changes
in lifestyle or even broader social transformation.
B. Equity and Justice The issue of anthropogenic climate
change cannot be divorced from questions of equity and
justice. It is well known that, while most historical emissions
of greenhouse gases have come from relatively wealthy
nations, the most severe impacts of climate change are likely
to be felt by those who are impoverished.
C. Assessment, Judgment, and Justification IPCC
authors are tasked with providing a clear account of the
current state of knowledge in their chapter domains. This
involves reviewing, evaluating, and synthesizing dozens if not
hundreds of published papers and offering conclusions that
are suitably qualified to reflect remaining uncertainties. As
noted earlier, these expressions of likelihood are explicitly
acknowledged to reflect expert judgment. Sociologist Steven
Yearley suggests that, unless more is said about how expert
judgment comes into play, this acknowledgement ‘opens to
the charge that judgements have been made in tendentious
ways or that the reports are not compelling since a different
set of authors might have reached a different set of
A. Scenario Development Because the extent to which a judgments’ (2009: 398).
community is harmed by climate change can depend significantly on
socio-economic factors, socio-economic scenarios are an important input WEEK 3
to these impact studies. Among the many challenges faced when EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY
developing socio-economic scenarios on regional and local scales is
1. Introduction Evidence-based policy’s (EBP) primary
learning how to involve stakeholders in the process in such a way that the
focus is on testing the strength of causal claims: if we do X then we shall
resulting scenarios (and subsequent impact assessments) are credible and
achieve our goal Y. It has led to numerous books, articles, and reports
useful to them as they consider how to respond to the threat of climate
with titles such as ‘What works in crime prevention’, ‘What works in
change.
child protection’, etc.
B. Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Over time,
the concept of ‘vulnerability’ has become important in this area of work. 2. What is EBP? Policy-makers have always called on
The IPCC defines vulnerability as ‘the degree to which a system is evidence to some degree in deciding what to do, and in persuading others
susceptible to, and unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate that their policy is well-founded. As long ago as 1086 in England, King
change, including climate variability and extremes’ (Parry et al. 2007: William the Conqueror sent men all over the country to collect
27). Vulnerability is understood to be a function not just of the systematic data on who owned what land and livestock, all the reports
anticipated exposure of a population to variations in climate and the being compiled into the Domesday Book that was then used as a source
sensitivity of the population to those changes—which together determine of reliable information to inform tax policy. The late nineteenth century
potential impacts—but also the ‘adaptive capacity’ of the population, i.e. saw a further spurt in political interest in research.
its capacity to alter its characteristics or behavior to cope with changes in
external conditions, such as changes in climate.
The London School of Economics and Political Science was
founded in 1895 by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, among others, with the
motto: ‘to know the causes of things’, meaning to undertake rigorous Random assignment and the use of a control condition seek to ensure that
social science research to inform policy-makers so that they made better any extraneous variation not due to the intervention is either controlled
decisions on how to improve society. experimentally or randomized. That allows the study’s results to be
causally attributed to differences between the intervention and control
EBP is now widely adopted in developed countries and is being conditions.
advocated for use when helping developing economies. In discussing its
Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations recommend EBP In sum, the use of an RCT design gives the investigator confidence that
because: ‘evidence-based policymaking refers to a policy process that differences in outcome between treatment and control were actually
helps planners make better informed decisions by putting the best caused by the treatment, since random assignment (theoretically)
available evidence at the center of the policy process’ (UNICEF 2008). equalizes the groups on all other variables.

3. What is ‘Best’ Evidence? Before discussing what 5. Systematic Reviews At the top of the evidence
counts as ‘best’, it is necessary to define ‘evidence’. It is often hierarchy comes the systematic review. Meta-analysis is a widely used
mistakenly spoken of as if it were a fixed property of a statement. It is strategy for integrating the findings from multiple studies using statistical
more correctly seen as in a three-place relationship. It is of something, methods aimed at increasing the population size and thereby
and it is useful to someone to use as good grounds for accepting some strengthening the reliability of the results. The basic idea is that, if policy
claim. Research results become evidence only when someone decides P has been shown to be effective in achieving the desired goals in several
that they will support the case they are trying to make. But what is RCTs conducted in different places, then there is more confidence that
noticed and considered relevant depends on the thought processes of the policy P really achieves those results.
individual who decides to use it as evidence. In general usage, ‘evidence’
can refer to many types of information. It can refer to the facts in a legal 6. Criticisms of EBP 1: The Claim to Be Objective A
case. It may be expert opinion. It can mean the evidence of our senses, challenge to EBP comes from those who claim that the concepts that are
what we see, hear, etc. used in empirical social research are framed and chosen by particular
groups in society. There is a fear that those in power have a dominant
The need for methodological validity derives from the many sources influence, and this may distort or omit the way the issues might be
of error that can creep into evaluations of policies. understood by less powerful groups. This challenge is of particular
significance in social policy because it so often involves powerful policy-
1. Ethical concerns: Randomly allocating individuals to makers making decisions that affect the most vulnerable in society who
different interventions raises serious ethical and sometimes often have weak political representation—children, those suffering
legal issues to do with informed consent. mental illness, or the disabled, for example.
2. Learning curves: Many interventions may take time to be
perfected. The question then arises as to when evaluations of 7. Criticisms of EBP 2: The Claim to Produce
these should be undertaken. Too soon and even those with Universal Knowledge How universal are the results of social research?
potential are likely to be rejected; too late and ethical A key tenet of EBP is that the findings about causal connections that are
considerations may preclude randomization. established by a well-conducted RCT can be used by others to inform
3. Variable delivery: The delivery of many interventions may their decision-making. As a limit to universalizability, there is some
rely on the skills of the deliverer. Ensuring consistent and proviso of the form that the new population has to be ‘sufficiently
replicable delivery may be difficult leading to concerns about similar’ to that in the RCT. The problem is in determining what is
what, exactly, is being evaluated. ‘sufficiently similar’.
4. Interactions: There may be interactions between the
intervention deliverer and the intervention recipient, which 8. Criticisms of EBP 3: The Preference for RCTs Limits
affect the likelihood of achieving beneficial outcomes. the Questions that are studied But what works is not all that matters.
5. Individual preferences: Individuals may have strong prior To interpret the call for evidence-based policy and practice in these terms
preferences that make their random allocation to groups alone is to disregard a whole set of other important questions in policy
problematic or even unethical. development, like what is going on? What’s the problem? Is it better or
6. Customized interventions: Some interventions may need worse than . . . ? What causes it? What might be done about it? At what
considerable customizing to individuals to achieve best effect. cost? By whose agency? . . . There needs to be research that is
Concerns again rise as to what is being evaluated. descriptive, analytical, diagnostic, theoretical, and prescriptive. That is,
7. Lack of group concealment: Knowledge of group allocation an evidence base to policy in all stages of the policy cycle—in shaping
may lead to changes in behavior or attitudes, which agendas, in defining issues, in identifying options, in making choices of
undermine the unbiased nature of any evaluation. action, in delivering them, and in monitoring their impact and outcomes.
8. Contamination: Understanding by participants of the nature (Solesbury 2001: 8)
of the evaluation may lead to convergence between the groups
diminishing any effect sizes. 9. The Limited Role of Research Evidence in Policy-
9. Lack of blinding: Blinding is difficult or impossible for Making Politics is the art of the possible and acceptable. Policies tend to
many interventions, with the attendant irks of bias being affect many different groups in society, and they often have different
introduced by study subjects’ behavior, compensatory values and views on the merits of the various options available to policy-
activities by external agents, or differential outcomes makers. In practice, making policies involves adjudicating between and
assessment. seeking to reconcile the preferences of many different people. Many have
10. Poor compliance: Individuals allocated to one intervention or sought to list the numerous factors that influence policy-making. Weiss
another may fail to comply with stipulations thus undermining (1977) offers the four Is:
the assessment. (Davies et al. 2000: 256) 5
 Information: the range of knowledge and ideas that help
4. Randomized Controlled Trials Historically, society people make sense of the current state of affairs, why
has given weight to the views of experienced practitioners. Doctors who things happen as they do, and which new initiatives will
treat patients, and see them recover or deteriorate, form views about what help or hinder;
works or not. Teachers, too, develop ideas about how best to teach their  Interests: i.e. self-interests;
classes on the basis of what has gone well or badly in previous years.  Ideologies: philosophies, values, political views;
Philosophers call this line of reasoning ‘post hoc ergo propter hoc’—  Institutions: shaping how individuals interpret their own
after this, therefore on account of this. interests and views and affecting the decision process
itself—who gets to speak, who makes the decisions.
The key features of RCTs are, first, a study in which participants are
assigned to an experimental or control group. In a randomized controlled 10. Conclusion While policy-makers have always drawn on
trial, participants are assigned to a group at random (i.e. they have an science for some guidance in formulating policies, EBP is a more
equal probability of being assigned to any group). This increases the systematic approach which follows evidence-based medicine in
probability that any confounding factors that could affect the outcomes emphasizing the importance of policy-makers considering the ‘best
you are studying will be equally distributed between the groups. evidence’. The nature of social reality—the social construction of key
concepts—is one obstacle to generating universally valid findings about
Procedures are controlled, seeking to ensure that all participants in all causal pathways. The complexity of causality in an open system is
study groups are treated the same except for the factor that is unique to another. The causal impact of any policy will be shaped by its
their group. The unique factor is the type of intervention they receive. interactions with other parts of the social system as it is implemented and
When the study involves interactions between a service provider and a this, in turn, will produce varied outcomes in different locations.
service user, as most medical and social interventions do, knowledge of
whether the user is in the experimental or control group can influence the
way the service is administered and how progress is measured, both
consciously and unconsciously. Therefore, ideally, both the person
providing the service and the person evaluating it are ‘blind’, i.e. ignorant
of which group the individual belongs to.
 It is a theoretical system based on this simple view of
well-being ECONOMICS
QUIZZES  It is all serious measures of well-being incorporate
WELL BEING WEEK 1 objective indicators such as medical care, family
dynamics, accessed to education, play, adequate food,
and hygiene CHILD WELL-BEING
1. Science-value-coordination how to do it and how not
to-is one of the central problems facing philosophers  It understand flourishing not as a unified phenomenon
of social science THE PROBLEM OF SCIENCE- but as encompassing several components: a sense of
VALUE COORDINATION autonomy, mastery, purpose, connectedness to people
2. Understand flourishing not as a unified phenomenon WELL-BEING WITH FLOURISHING OR
but as encompassing several components: a sense of EUDAIMONISM
autonomy, mastery, purpose, connectedness to people  It refers to a single unified concept that serves its
MAJOR CONSTRUCTS OF WELL-BEING IN purpose in all contexts in which we apply the term
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES INVARIANTISM
3. There is a single term such as ‘well-being’  Variantism and Invariantism states that “well-being is
VARIANTISM AND INVARIANTISM ABOUT a single term” TRUE FALSE
WELL-BEING  Subjective satisfaction is understood as the ability to
4. The value philosophers contemplates in well-being is go through one’s day reasonably TRUE FALSE
called ‘prudential’. Prudential value is supposed to  The big three theories in philosophy includes
bear a special relationship to us: well-being is not ‘Hedonic Balance’, Well-being is life satisfaction and
merely good; it is also good for us THE Eudaimonism TRUE
PHILOSOPHY-SCIENCE DISCONNECT  The value philosophers contemplates in well-being is
5. Mental state theorists, as the name suggest, take our called ‘prudential’ TRUE
mental states, and only them, to constitute our well-  Eudaimonism is an endorsement of the balance of the
being. For something to be good, this good to has to many values and priorities in life FALSE
have a special relationship, it has to engage, or 
resonate with, or be responsive to the priorities of a
person THEORIES OF PRUDENTIAL GOOD

WRITE THE WORD/S THAT DOESN’T BELONG TO

THE STATEMENT.

 Big three theories in philosophy: hedonic balance,

satisfaction, economics ECONOMICS
 Traditionally philosophy operates with a preference
satisfaction view of well-being: what we want is
what’s good for us PHILOSOPHY
 Adult incorporate objective indicators such as medical
care, family dynamics, access to education, play,
adequate food and hygiene ADULT
 The ability to go through one;s day reasonably
autonomously and the standard of functioning is
adjusted specifically by National well-being
NATIONAL WELL-BEING
 Understand hedonism not as unified phenomenon but
as encompassing several components: a sense of
autonomy, mastery, purpose, connectedness to people
HEDONISM
 The value philosophers contemplates in well-being is
called ‘prudential’ THE PHILOSOPHY–SCIENCE
DISCONNECT
 The following are the Big Three theories in
Philosophy, except
a. Well-being with flourishing or Eudaimonism
b. GERONTOLOGY OR THE MEDICAL
SCIENCES
c. Hedonic Balance
d. Well-being is life satisfaction
 An Oxford philosopher distinguished between mental
state, desire fulfilment, and ‘objective list’ theories of
well-being DEREK PARFIT
 It is supposed to bear a special relationship to us:
well-being is not merely good, it is also good for us
PRUDENTIAL VALUE
 It maintains that there may not be a single correct
theory of well-being to do all the jobs VARIANTISM
 It is an endorsement of the balance of the many values
and priorities in life WELL-BEING IS LIFE
SATISFACTION