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Accepted manuscript

A Defence of Informed Preference Satisfaction Theories of Welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2025

Roberto Fumagalli*
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer, King’s College London, UK, Research Associate, London School of Economics, UK, Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania, US
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Abstract

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This article defends informed preference satisfaction theories of welfare against the most influential objections put forward in the economic and philosophy of science literatures. The article explicates and addresses in turn: the objection from inner rational agents; the objection from unfeasible preference reconstruction; the objection from dubious normative commitments; the objection from conceptual ambiguity; and the objection from conceptual replacement. My defence does not exclude that preference satisfaction theories of welfare face significant conceptual and practical challenges. Still, if correct, it demonstrates that philosophers/welfare economists are justified in relying on specific versions of such theories, namely informed preference satisfaction theories.

Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association