Overall satisfaction with life

Abstract A good society is first of all a livable society and the livability of a society manifests in the life satisfaction of its members. Therefore improving society requires an understanding of life satisfaction, in particularly it requires to answer the following seven questions: 1) What is life satisfaction precisely? 2) Can life satisfaction be measured? 3) How satisfied are people presently with their life? 4) How do we assess how satisfied we are? 5) What conditions add to life-satisfaction? 6) Can life satisfaction be raised lastingly? 7) Should life-satisfaction be raised? Throughout the ages philosophers have toiled with these questions, and since the 1960's they have been subjected to empirical research. In this chapter we take stock of the progress that has been made in this fiel