Towards More Complexity in Subjective Well-Being Studies

The interest in measuring what matters for most individuals has led to the development of many indicators. Scientific approaches have made it possible to improve the incorporation of subjective perceptions into objective indicators. The perpetual quest for objectivity has led remaining subjectivity to be undesired and be considered as biases. This is partly a consequence of the epistemological ground on which Western science is built, in particular the Aristotelian principle of non-contradiction. The present contribution is an invitation to reconsider what is usually considered as “objective” and “subjective” and to incorporate them in a more complex framework in order to gain more understanding within subjective well-being studies in a scientific manner.