A critique of the concept of quality of life

Abstract

Taking a philosophical approach, ancient Greek philosophers and Christians began to investigate the concept of quality of life. Later, such philosophical pursuit was replaced by the school of positivism, which indicated that science was and still is the only valid form of enquiry. Through such positivistic science the metaphysical nature of the concept of quality of life is thought to be uncovered. However, the later Wittgensteinian philosophical thoughts demonstrated that there is no metaphysical understanding of any concepts but there is only knowledge of playing language games. In the light of this philosophy, prior to any scientific investigations, researchers have already understood and agreed on the concept of quality of life by playing language games. From the above philosophical analyses, outlines some implications for health care research.