Book Launch: Toward an Integrated Science of Wellbeing

About this event

There has always been interest in understanding what constitutes the good life and the basis for creating it. Much has been written about health and wellbeing at multiple scales, from the physical and psychological through to the societal and environmental. Wellbeing has been studied from the perspectives of psychology, medicine, economics, social science, ecology, and political science. However, the interconnections between these scales and perspectives have received far less attention.

Understanding these interdependencies is critical to the comprehensive understanding of wellbeing and how to improve it.

In a newly published and first of its kind book Toward an Integrated Science of Wellbeing, Robert Costanza and Ida Kubiszewski, along with Elizabeth Rieger and Paul Dugdale, have taken a whole system perspective to capture the full spectrum of approaches, interconnections and dimensions to wellbeing.

With contributions from established and emerging scholars from around the world, each chapter within the book presents a perspective that considers the psychological, biological, societal and environmental dimensions of wellbeing, and encompasses diverse fields including sociology, ecological economics, ecosystem health, earth system science, medicine, psychology and public administration.

About the speakers

Prof Robert Costanza is co-founder and past-president of the International Society for Ecological Economics, and founding editor of Ecological Economics. He is also founding editor-in-chief of Solutions and editor in chief of The Anthropocene Review. Read the spotlight on Professor Robert Costanza.

Dr Ida Kubiszewski is an Associate Professor at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. She was also a climate change negotiator for the Dominican Republic, following adaptation and loss and damage, and was a delegate at the 19th through 21st Conference of Parties. Read the spotlight on Dr Ida Kubiszewski.

Prof Kate Pickett is a British epidemiologist and political activist who is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, and was a National Institute for Health and Care Research Career Scientist from 2007–2012.

Prof Richard Wilkinson is Professor Emeritus of social epidemiology at the University of Nottingham. He is a British social epidemiologist, author, advocate, and left-wing political activist.

Carol Graham is a senior fellow in the Economic Studies program at Brookings, a College Park Professor at the University of Maryland, and a senior scientist at Gallup.

Accessibility

An access guide to Central House and room 225 can be found on AccessAble.