Some conceptual and methodological issues on happiness: Lessons from evolutionary biology

Abstract

Happiness studies are currently limited by the assumption that well-being is relative, multi-dimensional, and interpersonally non-comparable. However, evolutionary biology demonstrates that happiness is an absolute, universal, and unidimensional construct. Consciousness and the capacity for pleasure and pain evolved as a biological mechanism to ensure that flexible, non-hardwired choices align with fitness maximization. To function as a “common currency” for survival-oriented decision-making, these affective states must be cardinally measurable and comparable within and across individuals. Current survey methods, such as the zero-to-ten scale, frequently yield non-cardinal data, rendering the common practice of averaging group happiness scores methodologically unsound. This lack of cardinality prevents accurate assessments of welfare changes over time and across different populations. To address these deficiencies, happiness measurement should utilize “just perceivable increments,” a method that provides the cardinal and interpersonally comparable indices necessary for a rigorous scientific assessment of welfare. Adopting this biological framework resolves fundamental conceptual disputes regarding the nature of well-being and establishes a sounder methodological basis for future research. – AI-generated abstract.