The concept of well-being refers to optimal psychological functioning and experience.
It is the focus not only of everyday interpersonal inquiries (e.g. “How are
you?”) but also of intense scientific scrutiny. Although the question, “How are
you?” may seem simple enough, theorists have found the issue of well-being to
be complex and controversial. Indeed, from the beginnings of intellectual history,
there has been considerable debate about what defines optimal experience and what
constitutes “the good life.” Obviously, this debate has enormous theoretical and
practical implications. How we define well-being influences our practices of government,
teaching, therapy, parenting, and preaching, as all such endeavors aim to
change humans for the better, and thus require some vision of what “the better” is.