Yes, that's a central part of Sam Harris's argument in "The…
Yes, that's a central part of Sam Harris's argument in "The Moral Landscape." He posits that well-being is synonymous with what we consider "good," using it as a foundation for objective moral values. Harris suggests that questions about morality are ultimately about the flourishing or suffering of conscious creatures, and thus can be evaluated objectively by their impact on well-being.
In this view, actions and policies that enhance well-being are seen as morally good, whereas those that diminish it are seen as bad. Harris acknowledges that defining and measuring well-being can be complex, involving subjective and objective factors, but he believes these challenges do not undermine the possibility of scientifically understanding moral truths.
This framework, while innovative, is not without critics, who question the assumption that well-being is the sole metric of moral value and point out difficulties in operationalizing it in a universally applicable way.