This lecture, in the framework of the webinar series "New Histories of Public Spheres and Public Actions", is jointly organised with the University of Amsterdam.
Happiness and well-being research burst into visibility about three decades ago. It was received as a humanistic alternative to traditional psychology focused on disfunction, and to traditional economics based on income indicators. No longer a new kid on the block, today this field has fairly established methods, measures, and an array of stylized facts. Researchers in this field have developed useful tools to add to other social sciences and to practical endeavours such as impact evaluation, human resource management, and self-help. In this talk I explore the history and consequences of this field and argue that, although it remains diverse and vibrant, some strains of it turned technocratic in ways that run counter to the initial humanistic impulses. I also suggest that the technocratic turn is to some extent inevitable, given the prevailing norms governing evidence-based policy and the social sciences that feed it. Nevertheless this technocratic turn can and should be resisted.
Anna Alexandrova is a Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of King’s College Cambridge. She writes on ways in which scientists, especially social scientists, deploy formal tools such as models and indicators to navigate complex epistemic problems tinged with ethical and political dimensions. Her book A Philosophy for the Science of Wellbeing came out with Oxford University Press in 2017.