A good life full of suffering: Evaluating a life as a whole

Can a life full of suffering be good? This study might make it possible to answer this question in the affirmative. Participants were shown two scenarios describing two people’s lives: one whose life is full of suffering but meaningful [A] and another whose life is full of pleasure but not meaningful [B]. We asked the participants which life they considered better and which one they would choose to live. The results showed that some participants considered A’s a good life despite being full of suffering. In addition, some considered the suffering necessary for A’s success. Therefore, this can be considered a case of suffering potentially enhancing well-being. Furthermore, our research methodology, presenting concrete life scenarios, provides an objective way to evaluate life as a whole.