Questions tagged [utilitarianism]
The ethical theory that answers all questions of what to do, what to admire, or how to live, in terms of maximizing *utility* or happiness.
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Is the tyrannicide perpetrated by William Tell morally legitimate?
I have recently been reading Friedrich Schiller's fantastic Drama William Tell, in which he not only relates the folkloric-mythological origin of Switzerland upon its liberation from the yoke of the ...
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1answer
110 views
Under utilitarianism, does drug dealing become moral if you're good enough at it?
A simple utilitarian argument against drug dealing is that while the user may experience a great deal of pleasure, their family and friends are hurt more. But does this argument hold once a critical ...
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157 views
Is it possible for morality to exist?
I used to be fairly convinced that morality existed - because of the numerous different ethical systems available, I was sure that even if I did not know which system was right, that morality, in some,...
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217 views
What is a negative side of a utilitarian that focuses on what is expected to happen?
I know that we can divide utilitarians into two groups, those that focus on what was expected to happen and those that focus on what actually happened, and that most fall into the latter group. ...
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203 views
Does rule utilitarianism fail to be effectively utilitarian?
So from what I understand, rule utilitarianism as a doctrine states that in order to maximize utility, we should evaluate actions based on rules that, if we accept them, would maximize utility in the ...
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43 views
For Mill, is all speech ethical so long as it doesnt conflict with the harm principle?
I understand that Mill was a big advocate of freedom of speech and expression.
Im just wondering whether he just saw that as state policy or if he thought that on an individual level all speech is ...
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42 views
Utilitarianism and naturalistic fallacy [closed]
Does utilitarianism commit the naturalistic fallacy? Can someone tell with respect to act and rule utilitarianism?
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1answer
58 views
Is there any act utilitarian philosopher?
According to the Greatest Happiness Principle […] the ultimate end […]
is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as
possible in enjoyments, both in point of quantity and quality;...
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38 views
How real is the distinction Durkheim makes between the 2 forms of individualism in his 'Individualism and the Intellectuals'?
A summary from Britannica:
The French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) identified two types
of individualism: the utilitarian egoism of the English sociologist
and philosopher Herbert Spencer (...
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20 views
Queue jumping vs (Subjectivism, relativism, utilitarianism)
You are standing in the queue to take the elevator. X who arrived later than you ignore the queue and pushes ahead to enter the elevator. You try to stop him and convince him that breaking the queue ...
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1answer
42 views
Is Utilitarianism based on Calculations or Calculus?
I have been going through the Justice lecture series by Harvard and noticed one thing whenever there was reference to Utilitarianism and it's related phenomena like cost-benefit analysis the word ...
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1answer
80 views
What is an utilitarianism answer to the conflict between self-interest and the common good?
As far as I understand, if we accept utilitarianism ethics, then the right thing to do is to maximize the happiness of everyone, including all sentient beings. But this does not leave any space for ...
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107 views
Maximizing expected value - “triple or nothing” on a fair bet
The "triple-or-nothing paradox" is that a game where I expect to increase my money (on average) at each stage ends up bankrupting me with probability 1 if I play long enough. However, the ...
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2answers
126 views
Is there any consequentialist moral theory aside from utilitarianism?
I've noticed that when I read about ethics, "consequentialism" is sometimes described as a broader category of which utilitarianism is only an example, but sometimes the word seems to be ...
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2answers
142 views
Is corruption always morally wrong?
The question is whether corruption is always morally/ethically wrong.
To set up the premise, let me start with some examples. In third world countries (I'm from one myself, so I can speak from ...
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1answer
52 views
What's the meaning of “Intermediate Generalizations”?
The phrase is from John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism.
The context is:
"The corollaries from the principle of utility, like the precepts of every practical art, admit of indefinite improvement, ...
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3answers
98 views
What motivated Kant to focus on a relatively small set of principles when discussing morality?
Let’s use the famous example. Kant argues that lying is categorically bad because, even though lying can be good in narrow circumstances, one cannot will lying to be okay in a universal way.
However, ...
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4answers
154 views
Why isn’t the Kantian categorical imperative equal to utilitarian principles with additional constraints?
This is how I understood the categorical imperative: an action is moral if it, when universalized (the constraint), is good (utilitarian).
The need to universalize can be seen as a constraint: that is,...
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Gaïa utilitarianism?
What is the name of the branch of utilitarianism that place nature, biodiversity, life on earth, maybe intelligence, at the center, like classical utilitarianism do with human ?
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353 views
Is cheating mandatory according to a utilitarian?
Let's consider a game with a large number of players for which I discovered an undetectable cheating technique that makes me win (i.e. top the leaderboard) every time I use it (while my real skill is ...
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3answers
126 views
What are the most important responses to the claim that utilitarianism is compatible with extreme injustices?
Utilitarianism is often accused of being compatible with extreme injustices. If by tormenting a minority, a great amount of happiness is generated for a large majority, this situation would be ...
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2answers
102 views
What does utilitarianism say on the topic of abortion and timescales?
So, a bit of a forewarning here: this is going to delve into a controversial topic. I hope we can keep this civil, but this is the internet so who knows. Ideally, this also won't take a political tack,...
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1answer
132 views
Does utilitarianism demand a 5 mph speed limit?
Ok, so a bit of forewarning: this is going to delve into current events a little bit (not too much though).
I was having a discussion with someone about the response to the recent pandemic and I said ...
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169 views
Are Life and Intelligence analogous?
Let me explain what I mean. From the standpoint of biology, life is often defined by having a metabolism, the ability to reproduce, evolve, etc. (There is no single definition so far as I can tell.)
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3answers
153 views
Is self-interest ethical even when it means not helping others?
I'm having trouble reconciling common sense self-interest with the mainstream systems in ethics.
Say I'm taking a life-changing exam, and I've studied and am super prepared; yet, the guy behind me ...
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1answer
75 views
How do you apply utilitarian concepts to answer this?
You are the prime minister of a state being threatened by an insurgent group of 1000 men. You received the news that the insurgents are hiding in the hills with a community of innocent civilians of ...
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39 views
Harm Principle and the eventual harm of creating needs
A necessity or a need is a necessary condition for something else.
A need in Economics and particularly a consumer need is something needed to be consumed, a necessary condition for achieving higher ...
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2answers
191 views
In utilitarianism, is it better to give 1000 units of happiness to 1 person, or 100 units each to 10 people?
Assume that we have a way of quantifying happiness, and assume that all the people mentioned are equally well-off (not that the second point matters, I don't think). I know what the answer would be if ...
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2answers
131 views
Should we pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge without considering the possible consequences? [closed]
For example, should Alfred Noble be blamed for suicide bombers as he created dynamite?
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1answer
92 views
What is the meaning of “Philistine utilitarianism”?
I was wondering what is the meaning of "Philistine utilitarianism"? I saw this in a couple of articles and I wanna know that Is it a term or Should I read it literally; that is, anti-intellectual ...
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2answers
1k views
What should you do in this situation?
You've been on a cruise for two days when there's an accident that forces everyone on board to abandon ship. During the evacuation, one of the boats is damaged, leaving it with a hole that fills it ...
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2answers
593 views
How could I possibly apply rule-utilitarianism in real life?
If I believe in rule-utilitarianism as the best moral system we have to judge what actions are right and wrong, how would I go about applying this system pratically in real life decisions?
For ...
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1answer
45 views
Where does this utility equation come from, and what does the zero or uppercase “o” mean?
(1/n)(B + g/n) + ([n–1]/n)(0 + g/n)
What is zero or uppercase O mean?
Page 16: http://www.stafforini.com/library/kagan-2011.pdf#page=16
My best guess is that it's found somewhere in Reasons and ...
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12answers
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I'm being drafted to the military but I have the option to refuse (legally), would it be immoral for me to serve? [closed]
I’m set to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces but I have the option to exempt from the military if I wish to. So I’m in a big moral dilemma on whether I should serve or not, I’m currently leaning ...
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93 views
Alternative to utilitarianism that only looks at negative consequences of actions
If I understand correctly, according to utilitarianism, in the trolley problem, the ethical action is to pull the lever, causing one person to die and saving five.
Is there a variant of ...
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2answers
76 views
The needs of many (in 'ok' circumstances) vs. the needs of few (in 'extreme' circumstances)
I am writing about decision making when allocating charity resources, and I need a bit of background on deciding between improving lots of lives for animals with, let's say, average welfare (that ...
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56 views
Death in utilitaranism
Define utilitarian: Utilitarianism is a family of consequentialist ethical theories that promotes actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the majority of a population. (Wikipedia)
Is ...
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3answers
162 views
Reconciling Utilitarianism and Rawls's Theory of Justice as Fairness
I will argue that John Stuart Mill's greatest happiness principle (GHP) should be revised to avoid problematic implications and to better fit humans' intuitive sense of morality. Furthermore, the ...
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52 views
Preference Utilitarianism with regards to humans and animals
I am not in depth familiar with the theory of preference utilitarianism, so this might be a complete misunderstanding of the principle. But nonetheless there are a few things that I can not gasp under ...
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1answer
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Categorical Imperative vs. Utilitarianism
I'm watching philosophy crash course, and the narrator claimed that Utilitarianism is the antithesis of the of Kant's categorical imperative. However, on the surface, I can't see a major difference. ...
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2answers
192 views
How does utilitarianism deal with probabilities?
This is the most frustrating problem I encountered in understanding utilitarianism. If we've chosen the best possible alternative according to the expected value of 'happiness' it brought. Could our ...
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3answers
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Utilitarianism revisited
I assume utilitarianism to be the doctrine that one should act to maximize the overall amount of "happiness".
Next to the fact that it's not quite clear
what happiness is supposed to be and how it ...
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0answers
201 views
Is there a quantitative model of Bentham's Hedonic Calculus?
Jeremy Bentham, in Chapter 4 of his 1781 An Introduction to the Principles
of Morals and Legislation, defines what has become known as the Hedonic Calculus. He states,
Pleasures then, and the ...
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1answer
96 views
What are the disadvantages of utilitarianism? [closed]
For a philosophy that is founded on usefulness I don't see much of a disadvantage. But, I'd love know more about it.
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2answers
213 views
In what way is everyone not a utilitarian
I am having troubles understanding utilitarianism a little bit, and have posed this question to a number of people and been met mostly with bafflement about how I cannot see the error in my proposed ...
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2answers
562 views
A typology of ethical theories for beginners?
Ethical theories can doubtless be classified, cross-connected and contrasted in many ways. I am not looking for a definitive classification, only a useful typology to get me started. Refinements and ...
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3answers
244 views
Does history provide support for moral objectivism?
I must say this was thoroughly entertaining:
The Lizard People Of Alpha Draconis 1 Decided To Build An Ansible -
Scott Alexander
https://www.lesswrong.com/s/zfXAcwLnGocsCsriG/p/...
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1answer
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Philosophical views on nudity
Some might argue that our attitudes towards nudity are simply cultural trappings. I believe they actually have a deeper biological origin.
But I'm curious to know what philosophers have said on the ...
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1answer
80 views
Is there anything in epistemology beyond exploration+reinforcement learning (RL)? [closed]
I am trying to build consciousness in artificial intelligence. The general mechanism is that agent (randomly or based on some preexisting knowledge) performs some actions (gets some knowledge, makes ...
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1answer
133 views
Is unhappiness a principle of utility for any moral philosopher?
G. E. M. Anscombe criticizes the following happiness principle of utility in Modern Moral Philosophy as an adequate judgement for moral behavior (midway, page 7 of the link):
"The greatest ...
