Introduction to the EARN Theory of Well-Being and Justice, for Philosophical Consulting and Beyond

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-126
Author(s):  
Martha Lang ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causal Network ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Practical Model ◽  
Sense Of Justice

The EARN Theory of Well-Being includes a practical model for ascertaining and analyzing the well-being of individuals or groups; in its most recent iteration, EARN Theory includes insights from Lang's Network Theory of Well-Being, Revamped, which states that well-being is a matter of instantiating a holistically authentic positive causal network. Both EARN Theory and the Network Theory of Well-Being, Revamped are informed by the science of well-being and guided by a sense of justice. Presented as an inference to the best explanation, the argument for EARN Theory is naturalistic while also inclusive of existential and moral considerations. EARN Theory gives us something to strive for where our well-being is concerned, and it helps us to articulate personal and societal reasons that our well-being gets derailed or diminished at times. EARN Theory has numerous practical applications, including philosophy-based consulting, self-help endeavors, and public policy reform that promotes a renewed notion of justice.

Philosophical Counseling and the Network Theory of Well-Being, Revamped

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Martha Lang ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Model ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causal Network ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Objective Information ◽  
Causal Networks ◽  
Emergent Theory

The central goal of this article is to make the case that the revamped version of Michael Bishop’s Network Theory of Well-being, described in his 2015 book The Good Life: Unifying the Philosophy and Psychology of Well-Being, provides a worthwhile framework for philosophical counseling endeavors, including Logic-Based Therapy. In 2017, The Network Theory of Well-Being, Revamped emerged as a response to Bishop’s theory of well-being; the revamped version was also my dissertation, which I successfully defended and published that year. By appealing to a set of counter-examples, I argue that Bishop’s theory is missing an essential component; his positive causal network model of well-being allows for sever­al problematic cases which, upon investigation, demonstrate positive causal networks but cannot reasonably be considered examples of well-being. In revamping Network Theory, I argue that three additional criteria are required for well-being: authenticity, a bit of moral­ity, and some objective information. Altogether, these three criteria comprise what I call holistic authenticity. As such, the emergent theory of well-being declares that well-being is a matter of instantiating a holistically authentic positive causal network. This theory of well-being is the most reasonable notion of well-being for philosophical counseling because it is based on Network Theory’s inclusive method, which requires that the philosophy of well-being join forces with the science of well-being.

Parenthood and Psychological Well-being in Finland: Does Public Policy make a difference?

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Savolainen ◽  
Eero Lahelma ◽  
Karri Silventionen ◽  
Anne Hélène Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being

Investigating the Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness of a Web-based Self-help Program for People With Adjustment Problems After an Accident (SelFIT): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Hegy ◽  
Noemi Anja Brog ◽  
Thomas Berger ◽  
Hansjoerg Znoj
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Adjustment Problems ◽  
Health Care Consumption ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Wide Range

BACKGROUND Accidents and the resulting injuries are one of the world’s biggest health care issues often causing long-term effects on psychological and physical health. With regard to psychological consequences, accidents can cause a wide range of burdens including adjustment problems. Although adjustment problems are among the most frequent mental health problems, there are few specific interventions available. The newly developed program SelFIT aims to remedy this situation by offering a low-threshold web-based self-help intervention for psychological distress after an accident. OBJECTIVE The overall aim is to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the SelFIT program plus care as usual (CAU) compared to only care as usual. Furthermore, the program’s user friendliness, acceptance and adherence are assessed. We expect that the use of SelFIT is associated with a greater reduction in psychological distress, greater improvement in mental and physical well-being, and greater cost-effectiveness compared to CAU. METHODS Adults (n=240) showing adjustment problems due to an accident they experienced between 2 weeks and 2 years before entering the study will be randomized. Participants in the intervention group receive direct access to SelFIT. The control group receives access to the program after 12 weeks. There are 6 measurement points for both groups (baseline as well as after 4, 8, 12, 24 and 36 weeks). The main outcome is a reduction in anxiety, depression and stress symptoms that indicate adjustment problems. Secondary outcomes include well-being, optimism, embitterment, self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, pain, costs of health care consumption and productivity loss as well as the program’s adherence, acceptance and user-friendliness. RESULTS Recruitment started in December 2019 and is ongoing. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining a web-based self-help program designed to treat adjustment problems resulting from an accident. If effective, the program could complement the still limited offer of secondary and tertiary psychological prevention after an accident. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03785912; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03785912?cond=NCT03785912&draw=2&rank=1

Approaches to the definition of territorial backwardness in the regional development management

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-73
Author(s):  
E. B. Veprikova ◽  
◽  
A. A. Kislenok ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Development ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
Development Management ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Definition Of

Reducing the level of interregional differentiation is one of the problems in spatial development management according to the Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation. Presence of significant regional imbalances hampers formation of a common economic, social, cultural, and institutional space and lead to a creation of backward territories which lag behind in the development. The focus of public policy measures on the centers of economic growth, with the concentration of financial and labor resources, without solving the problems of backward territories does not bring the expected effect – overall development and well-being. Local effects in the absence of positive changes in other territories result in the increase in imbalances, which limit the overall effectiveness of the public policy. At the same time, a steadily increasing lag may cause a loss of potential of economic growth and thus forms backward territories. The creation of territorial backwardness is a gradual process. Therefore, diagnosing the state of the territory and identifying the signs of increasing depression is an essential issue of public administration. The article presents the main approaches to the definition of territorial backwardness used in the Russia and overseas, it also reviews the determinants of backward territories. Different methods for identification of backwardness in the territorial development have been tested on the basis of the regions of the Russian Far East.

Animal Pain Scales in Public Policy

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (1_part_1) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
F. Barbara Orlans
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pain Scale ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Animal Pain ◽  
Pain Scales ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control

Pain scales classify the severity of pain inflicted on laboratory animals from little or none up to severe. A pain scale as part of public policy serves beneficial purposes that promote animal welfare. It can be used to educate people about the two alternatives of refinement and replacement, and the need to reduce animal pain. Furthermore, a pain scale has practical applications: 1) in review procedures for animal welfare concerns; 2) in developing policies on the use of animals in education; and 3) as a basis for collecting national data on animal experimentation, so that meaningful data can be collected on trends in reduction and control in animal pain. So far, only a few countries (including Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand) have adopted pain scales as part of their public policy. Most countries, including the United States, have not yet done so. The history of the development and adoption of pain scales by various countries is described and the case is presented for wider adoption of a pain scale in countries not currently using one.

scholarly journals Framing policy designs through contradictory emotions: The case of Czech single mothers

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna P Durnová ◽  
Eva M Hejzlarová
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Single Mothers ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Policy Goal ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Way

In public policy scholarship on policy design, emotions are still treated as opposed to goals, and their presence is assumed to signal that things have gone wrong. We argue, however, that understanding how and for whom emotions matter is vital to the dynamics of policy designs because emotions are central to the capacity building of policy intermediaries and, with that, to the success of public policies. We examine the case of Czech single mothers in their role as intermediaries in ‘alimony policy’. Our interpretive survey provided single mothers an opportunity to express the way they experience the policy emotionally. The analysis reveals that the policy goal of the child’s well-being is produced at the cost of the mother’s emotional tensions and that policy designs defuse these emotional tensions, implicitly. These contradictory emotions expressed by mothers show us a gateway to problematising policy designs in a novel way, which reconsiders construing policy design as a technical, solution-oriented enterprise to one in which emotional tensions intervene in policy design and are essential for succeeding.

Angus Fletcher’s Other Literary Darwinism

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Joseph Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Literary Scholarship ◽  
Negative Judgment ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Literary Darwinism ◽  
Patent Medicine

Abstract Angus Fletcher pitches his book to general readers. Though it consists of literary criticism, it is designed as a psychological self-help manual-literature as therapy. Fletcher's thera­peutic program is presented as an alternative to the kind of literary Darwinism that iden­tifies human nature as the basis for literature. He acknowledges the existence of human nature but aims at transcending it by promoting an Aquarian ethos of harmony and un­derstanding. He has some gifts of style, but the dominant voice in his stylistic blend is that of the shill hawking a patent medicine. He presents himself as a modern sage who reveals an ancient but long-lost technique for using literature to boost happiness and well-being. Each of his 25 chapters identifies a distinct literary technique and uses popularized neuro­science to describe its supposedly beneficial psychological effects. Fletcher’s chains of rea­soning are habitually tenuous, and his exposition is littered with factual errors that betray ignorance of the books, genres, and periods he discusses. Despite its shortcomings, Fletch­er’s book has received encomiums from prestigious researchers, including the psychologist Martin Seligman and the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. In evaluating Fletcher’s rhetor­ical style, analytic categories, Aquarian ethos, historical self-narrative, pattern of reasoning, and literary scholarship, this review essay reaches a more negative judgment about the value of his book. As an alternative to Fletcher’s book, I recommend a few evolutionary literary works for general readers.

The role of self‐help groups in promoting well‐being: experiences from a cancer group

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazira Visram ◽  
Adrian Roberts ◽  
Patience Seebohm
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Cancer Group ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Self Help Groups

Comments on the special issue

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-212
Author(s):  
Paul McGhee
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Sense Of Humor ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
The Brain

Abstract This article includes comments on each contributing author’s article in this special issue of Humor. The articles represent an assessment of McGhee’s research, work on practical applications or influence in the following areas: 1) the development of children’s humor, 2) construction and validation of the Sense of Humor Scale (SHS), 3) usefulness of specific subscales of the SHS, including “playfulness” and “laughing at yourself,” 4) development and evaluation of the 7 Humor Habits Program—a training program for learning to use humor to cope with stress, 5) humor’s impact on physical health and emotional well being, 6) impact on the field of nursing, and 7) humor and the brain. McGhee provides here his response to each contributed article.

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