ABSTRACT
Health is both a cause and constituent of well-being. A stronger view, which I shall contest, is that health is simply one kind of well-being and that the value of health consists of its contribution to well-being. Section 1 briefl y defends the view that health is both a cause and constituent of well-being and distinguishes that view from the stronger claim that health is a kind of well-being. Section 2 considers whether contributing to well-being or possessing some other evaluative property is essential to health. Section 3 explores further implications of the view that the value of health consists in its contribution to well-being and lays out arguments in its defense. Section 4 criticizes those arguments, and section 5 points out contrasts between health and well-being. Throughout this chapter, I shall attempt to bring my abstract claims down to earth by linking them to a particular health state: deafness.
