Abstract
This chapter provides a brief introduction to the complex construct of wellbeing, some of the major societal challenges impacting on it and potential solutions. Wellbeing is a controversial topic and its definition is typically dependent on disciplinary perspectives. Here we take a broader view, encompassing individual, collective and planetary wellbeing that focuses on individuals, groups and the systems in which they are embedded. Some major barriers to achieving a sense of wellbeing include problems within society such as chronic disease, poverty and loneliness, intensified by the climate crisis and reinforced by the neoliberal model of development, all of which impact on the most vulnerable in society. Progress on sustainable development goals has been disappointing, and there is an urgent need for transformational change at multiple levels of scale that focuses on qualities and skills for inner development that lay stronger foundations for improving our capacity to manage increasingly complex societal challenges. Subsequent chapters further explore multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary issues relating to understanding and promotion of wellbeing despite great hardship, suffering and inequity.
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Kemp, A.H., Edwards, D.J. (2022). An Introduction to the Complex Construct of Wellbeing, Societal Challenges and Potential Solutions. In: Kemp, A.H., Edwards, D.J. (eds) Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18329-4_1
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