Better than nothing: on defining the valence of a life

Brown, Campbell ORCID: 0000-0001-9821-9710 (2023) Better than nothing: on defining the valence of a life. Economics and Philosophy. ISSN 0266-2671

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Abstract

The valence of a life – that is, whether it is good, bad or neutral – is an important consideration in population ethics. This paper examines various definitions of valence. The main focus is ‘temporal’ definitions, which define valence in terms of the ‘shape’ of a life’s value over time. The paper argues that temporal definitions are viable only with a restricted domain, and therefore are incompatible with certain substantive theories of well-being. It also briefly considers some popular non-temporal definitions, and raises some problems for these.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Date Deposited:	24 Aug 2023 10:51
Last Modified:	24 Oct 2025 06:25
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120063

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