Final answer:
The author discusses subjective well-being, which is based on personal feelings and opinions, versus objective goods, which are universally beneficial factors to a person's flourishing, like health, knowledge, and virtue. There is no specific analogy offered, but the differences between subjective emotions and cognitive judgments, and objective universal benefits are illustrated.
Step-by-step explanation:
The author does not provide a specific analogy to help the reader understand the difference between the subjective versus objective elements of happiness, but the concept of subjective well-being and objective goods are discussed. Subjective well-being refers to how individuals emotionally evaluate their own lives and includes emotional reactions and cognitive judgments. These evaluations are inherently subjective because they are based on personal feelings, experiences, and opinions.
Conversely, objective goods refer to external factors that are believed to contribute to a person's well-being, regardless of their personal desires or feelings. Philosophers who support objective goods as determinants of happiness argue that certain conditions, such as health, knowledge, and virtue, are universally beneficial and contribute to a person's flourishing. These are not solely dependent on an individual's subjective assessment but are considered to be beneficial to anyone, making them objective.
In the realm of moral philosophy, subjective elements relate to emotivism, where values are based on individual feelings and are, thus, completely subjective. Objective elements, however, relate to the notion of objective goods or values that contribute to well-being, which exist independently of an individual's subjective opinions or desires.