A good life should be judged by how it is lived as well as by how it is remembered

Daniel Kahneman's talk "The riddle of experience vs. memory" draws a distinction that stays with you. There is the self that lives through moments, and there is the self that remembers and tells the story afterwards. They do not always agree: a holiday can feel pleasant while it lasts and be remembered less fondly because of how it ended, or the reverse.

This matters for how we think about well-being. Philosophers distinguish several accounts of what makes a life go well: pleasure, desire fulfilment, or objective goods such as friendship and knowledge. A life can also be judged by its overall shape, a story with a satisfying arc.

We think that a sensible view must give weight to both the lived experience and the remembered shape. If we only maximise memories, we may trade away real days of happiness for a good story. If we only maximise moments, we may neglect meaning and achievement.

What would change our mind: a persuasive account of well-being in which only one of the two matters.