Place and Role of the "Quality of Life" Category in the Characteristic of Society: Historical Context and Current State

Abstract

Quality of life is an interdisciplinary and multifactorial category. The article considers the internal logic of the development of the category "quality of life." An overview of the main scientific schools in the field of research on the problems of the level and quality of life is presented. Summarizing the historical dynamics, a chronology of studies of the quality of life for the period from 1920 to 2020 is graphically presented. Establishing the relationship between quality of life and other categories is an interdisciplinary task. At the same time, the types of connections are highlighted: verbal communication; logical communication; a context-free or mathematical relationship; contextually connected or physical association. Four classes of meters are distinguished: natural, value, physical, conditionally dimensionless units, for which conditions are formulated (advantages and disadvantages). The following categories are being linked to the quality of life: standard of living, lifestyle, life satisfaction, happiness, welfare, well-being, social progress, prosperity, human development, etc. The distinctive characteristics and properties of the quality of life as a category are highlighted; its place among other categories is indicated. These steps made it possible to formulate modern trends in the study of the quality of life, to show the transformation of priority approaches to measurement, as well as to establish the conceptual aspects of the development of the management concept of the quality of life for the population.