Well-Being as Need Satisfaction

This paper presents a new analysis of the concept non-instrumental need, and, using it, demonstrates how need-satisfaction theory well-being is much more plausible than might otherwise be supposed. Its thesis that in at least some contexts evaluation central part persons’ consists their satisfying certain “personal needs”. Unlike common conceptions other needs, which make those out to moralised, universal, and minimal, personal needs are expansive particular persons, generated rather by non-moral commitments. Against objections contrary, I show these genuine necessities, since unlike mere desires freely escapable aims, constitute objective, inescapable, non-compensable practical requirements. The personal-need-satisfaction combines objectivity with subject-dependence novel ways, motivates pluralism level individual agency. Implicating necessity as it does structure well-being, this account robust challenge ethical political theories rely on intrapersonal aggregation unproblematic.