Scientific Eudaimonism: Naturalistic Reconstruction of the Aristotelian Conception of Well-being

In this paper, I develop and defend an naturalistic theory of well-being along the lines suggested by Aristotle. According to this idea, the conceptual structure of well-being track patterns of natural normativity that permeate the domain of life along the functional joints of nature. In one interpretation of the idea, it is intrinsically good for living beings to flourish in the sense of fulfilling and integrating their nature throughout life. Due to a number of concerns, contemporary proponents of the idea reject naturalistic interpretations of it. The chief concern is that a theory of well-being grounded in natural kind properties postulated by empirical sciences is likely to contradict our considered convictions regarding the meaning of well-being. In this article, I consider three influential forms of argument based on that concern. Through engagement with these arguments, I develop a scientific sort of Aristotelian naturalism that is compatible with a modern scientific worldview, and consistent with the premises to the most important objections to it. My conclusion is that the Aristotelian approach to ground well-being in nature has a lot of unexplored potential, and is a live alternative to subjective explanatory theories of well-being.

• Draft of the paper

Eudaimonism and its Rivals: An Extended Argument for Nature Fulfilment Theories of Well-being

In this paper I present an extended argument in support of eudaimonic (functional) explanations of well-being. The argument seeks to demonstrate that rival theories, including theories that explain well-being in terms of evaluation (life satisfaction & informed desire satisfaction) and affect (phenomenal hedonism & attitudinal hedonism), either contradict our considered convictions regarding the meaning of well-being or are indeterminate. I argue that plausible versions of each theory can be made determinate if grounded in functional facts of the well-being subject. The conclusion of the argument is that functional integration in a sense inspired by the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle can accommodate the core attractions of both subjective and hedonic theories and that an eudaimonist nature-fulfillment theory of this sort best explains the nature and meaning of well-being.

• Draft of the paper

Towards a Functional Theory of Health: Modelling the Normative Significance of Functional Traits

This essay presents and defends a functional theory of health in which the degree to which some person is healthy is determined on the basis of medical facts regarding the expected causal effects of her present health condition on natural functions in her body over time. This is modeled as a causal graph representing levels of function in the interrelated traits, faculties and organ systems of the human body and mind. Parameters of the model grounds a quantitative account of health informed by clinical research. This theory of health can inform naturalistic theories of medical disorder, as well as the development of health metrics for prioritisation.

• Draft of the paper

Consequentialist Epistemology: Towards a Framework for Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Epistemic Action in Deliberation and Decision Making

I have received grants to do independent research on forecasting and decision making. In my research I try to assess the cost-effectiveness of adopting specific epistemic methods in concrete practical decision making tasks.Forecasting tournaments has shown that the application of a set of epistemic methods reliably improves forecasting accuracy on a range of questions in several domains. However, such methods are not widely used by either individuals, teams or institutions in practical decision making. Two important reasons why have to do with costs and relevance.Methods for good judgement can be time-consuming and complicated to use in practical decision making. It is not always clear to decision makers if the gains in accuracy of adopting particular methods outweigh the costs. In my research I explore ways to make effective epistemic methods easier to apply, and use. I have done some work on quantitative belief elicitation, and aim to do more in this space.Rigorous forecasting questions are not always relevant to decisions at hand, and it is not always clear to decision makers if and when they can connect rigorous forecasting questions to important decisions. I think that insights from logic and bayesian statistics can be helpful to model relevance, and make inroads on this problem.

• Forum post
• Presentation
• Project Description

Using AI to Enable Active Learning

Computer-assisted deliberate practice with rapid formative assessment on practice assignments informed by learning analytics

In 2020, Anders Evensen, Andreas Netteland and I initiated an innovation project with the support of the Norwegian Research Council, Innovation Norway, and Design and Architecture Norway. We have now developed a platform for making and doing practice assignments with automatic assessment and feedback in qualitative subjects like those of social science and the humanities.Research shows that practice and feedback is important to learning, so we think that there should be more practice and feedback in qualitative subjects. Multiple choice assignments are shallow and ineffective. The alternative, essay assignments, are labour-intensive to grade, so that is not a viable alternative for most teachers.With creative thinking and the application of recent innovations in the field of AI called natural language processing (NLP), Anders, Andreas and I found a way to automate assessment and feedback for practice assignments in text-based subjects. Using this technology, we facilitate for deliberate practice with rapid formative assessment in qualitative subjects, while collecting anonymised data for learning analytics and NLP research.

• Website
• Article