ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 concerns the first structural feature of human life: activities, experiences and processes. It examines the characteristics of these activities, etc. that make them desirable for the person living the life. We specify those characteristics by contrasting desire (or preference) and objective-list theories. We argue that both theories are mistaken because they are based on a simplistic account that identifies desires only in relation to their objects rather than also their content. As an alternative, we outline an account of the interpretation of desires, that is, why one desires what one does, in terms of the interests or needs that motivate the non-derivative desires in question. Such a notion is required to characterise the kinds of activities, etc. that are non-instrumentally valuable, and hence are constituted in a person’s well-being. We provide some empirical specifications for such interests, and argue that research about well-being requires investigation into such characteristics of our activities, experiences and processes.
