The Quality of Life

by Nussbaum, Martha; Sen, Amartya

• ISBN13: 9780198287971
• ISBN10: 0198287976
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-04-01
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

The idea of the quality of life is central to economic and social assessment and also to public policy, social legislation, and community programs. However, the commonly used indicators of economic success such as per capita income are at best crude measures of the quality of life. There is a strong need for a systematic exploration of the content, reach, and relevance of the concept of the quality of life, and ways of making it concrete and usable. In this collection of essays, some leading economists and philosophers rise to that challenge and provide a wide-ranging investigation. The essays include examinations of recent attempts to replace incomes and utilities by the concept of capability and also an exploration of the classic Aristotelian accounts of human flourishing, which provide insights into capability-based assessment of the quality of life. Some underlying methodological problems are also examined, including cultural relativism and utility as a measure of advantage. Possibilities of application are discussed in the context of important practical problems, such as correcting gender-based inequalities, determining medical priorities, and promoting living standards. The overall result is a major contribution to the understanding and use of the idea of the quality of life.

Table of Contents

the Quality Of Life	p. i
Wider	p. ii
The Quality of Life	p. iii
Foreword	p. v
List of Contributors	p. ix
Lives and Capabilities	p. 7
Equality of What? on Welfare, Goods, and Capabilities	p. 9
Bibliography	p. 29
Capability and Well-Being	p. 30
Bibliography	p. 50
G.A. Cohen: Equality of What? on Welfare, Goods and Capabilities Amartya Sen: Capability and Well-Being	p. 54
Bibliography	p. 61
Amartya Sen: Capability and Well-Being	p. 62
Bibliography	p. 66
Descriptions of Inequality: the Swedish Approach to Welfare Research	p. 67
Bibliography	p. 82
Robert Erikson: Descriptions of Inequality	p. 84
Having, Loving, Being: an Alternative to the Swedish Model of Welfare Research	p. 88
Bibliography	p. 94
Quality of Life Measures in Health Care and Medical Ethics	p. 95
Bibliography	p. 128
Dan Brock: Quality of Life Measures in Health Care and Medical Ethics	p. 133
Bibliography	p. 139
Traditions, Relativism, and Objectivity	p. 141
Objectivity and the Science-ethics Distinction	p. 143
Bibliography	p. 156
Hilary Putnam: Objectivity and the Science-Ethics Distinction	p. 158
Bibliography	p. 164
Objectivity and Social Meaning	p. 165
Michael Walzer: Objectivity and Social Meaning	p. 178
Bibliography	p. 184
Value, Desire, and Quality of Life	p. 185
Bibliography	p. 200
Thomas Scanlon: Value, Desire, and Quality of Life	p. 201
Explanation and Practical Reason	p. 208
Bibliography	p. 231
Charles Taylor: Explanation and Practical Reason	p. 232
Bibliography	p. 240
Non-Relative Virtues: an Aristotelian Approach	p. 242
Bibliography	p. 268
Martha Nussbaum: Non-Relative Virtues: an Aristotelian Approach	p. 270
Bibliography	p. 276
Women's Lives and Gender Justice	p. 277
Women and the Quality of Life: Two Norms or One?	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 296
Julia Annas: Women and the Quality of Life: Two Norms or One?	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 302
Justice, Gender, and International Boundaries	p. 303
Bibliography	p. 322
Onora O'Neill: Justice, Gender, and International Boundaries	p. 324
Bibliography	p. 334
Policy Assessment and Welfare Economics	p. 337
Distributing Health: the Allocation of Resources by an International Agency	p. 339
Bibliography	p. 357
John Roemer: Distributing Health: the Allocation of Resources by an International Agency	p. 358
The Relativity of the Welfare Concept	p. 362
Conclusion	p. 384
B.M.S. Van Praag: the Relativity of the Welfare Concept	p. 386
Bibliography	p. 392
Pluralism and the Standard of Living	p. 393
Bibliography	p. 409
Paul Seabright: Pluralism and the Standard of Living	p. 410
Life-Style and the Standard of Living	p. 417
Appendix	p. 433
Christopher Bliss: Life-Style and the Standard of Living	p. 437
Bibliography	p. 444
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