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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What are the disadvantages of utilitarianism? [on hold]
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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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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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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161 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
223 views
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
58 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
79 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 ...
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2answers
127 views
Is there a non-arbitrary way to choose rules in rule utilitarianism
In act utilitarianism you choose the action that most increases utility, there is no ambiguity (assuming utility can be calculated, etc.). Conversely, in rule utilitarianism rules are chosen that ...
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Does utilitarianism distinguish between pain/suffering and pleasure/happiness?
I consider myself a utilitarian and in my conception of it, happiness and suffering are distinct from pleasure and pain. I came to this conclusion by noting that I could be in pain but happy, or ...
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140 views
How do utilitarians defend their moral philosophy against the impracticality objection?
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-005-3021-y
This paper made me think what there's left for Utilitarianism when "utilitarians are worried about the impracticality objection, they ...
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1answer
94 views
Kant and Utilitarians vs War
A soldier is about to execute 20 prisoners. He tells you that if you kill one of them, he'll let the other 19 go. This classic standoff between Kantian ethics and utilitarianism is discussed @ "...
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For a utilitarian, is a lie morally equivalent to a mistake?
As far as I know, utilitarians consider that only the consequences should be considered as the calculation of the morality of an action.
Since a mistake and a lie differ only in their intent, are ...
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92 views
Moral nihilism & teleology
Can one be a moral nihilist and hold teleological beliefs at the same time? More specifically, can I be a moral nihilist, whilst also being a utilitarian? And further, is teleology a branch of moral ...
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650 views
Is there a difference between utilitarianism and consequentialism?
In the Wikipedia entry about Anscombe, there is a quote where she juxtaposes traditional utilitarianism to 'consequentialism'.
In what sense are they different and what are some points of divergence (...
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1answer
734 views
Why might one prefer rule utilitarianism over act utilitarianism?
I understand the difference between both schools of thought but why is rule utilitarianism thought to be better?
With context to this question. What is the difference between Rule Utilitarianism and ...
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1answer
219 views
Does antinatalism carry the seeds of its own destruction?
Antinatalists claim that it is immoral to procreate. For instance:
David Benatar argues there is an asymmetry between pleasure and pain,
which means it would be better for humans not to have ...
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4answers
291 views
Why is Utilitarianism called an unfalsifiable ethic?
Is it true that Utilitarianism is not falsifiable in principle?
What would be an example of falsifiable ethics?
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314 views
Can utilitarianism make anything moral if someone profits enough from it?
Ever since I first heard about utilitarian system of ethics, there is one thing that has been on my mind.
Since utilitarianism is about creating the greater amount of total good (and, the smaller ...
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947 views
Does utilitarianism justify racism in some circumstances?
Utilitarianism says that we should maximize aggregate utility. Greatest happiness for the greatest number is the usual catchphrase.
Suppose there is a wealthy country A with lots of extra resources, ...
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Utilitarian Morality vs Kantian Morality
Does Utilitarian or Kantian Morality Approve :
1) Capital Punishment
2) Use of torture in interrogation of known terrorists
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1answer
65 views
Does the possible existence of infinity prove that Utilitarianism is ill-defined?
Utilitarianists judge actions based on their utility value for all people involved. This utility value, or function, is based on mathematics: we are summing numbers.
Mathematics involve the ...
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2answers
166 views
Do objective improvements to descriptive ethics always improve normative ethics?
Robert Nozick provided an argument against Utilitarianism called Experience Machine. The argument involves only the "Is" part: "We have reason not to plug into the experience machine." But this makes ...
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116 views
Does this argument prove the uselessness of Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism, if it is to be a proper paradigm of ethical reasoning, must apply in an abstract sense. It cannot be that there exist certain cases, certain states of the world, where the paradigm ...
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173 views
What would Utilitarian and Kantian say or react to this case?
Delores Heston, age 22 and unmarried, was severely injured in an automobile accident. She was taken to the plaintiff hospital where it was determined that she would expire unless operated upon for a ...
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406 views
Is Epicureanism more like egoism or utilitarianism
Epicureans put a focus on pleasure, but it is unclear from any material I've seen whether this the goal is one's own pleasure, the pleasure of everyone equally, or some more complicated interaction.
...
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1answer
180 views
Why does utilitarianism presuppose that objective utility can exist and is to the benefit of a society?
Utilitarianism asserts that a society can operate according to the benefit of the most members of the population, and that actions on behalf of a society should maximize utility. Why does it assert ...
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Is there an academic consensus in modern philosophy for how to answer moral philosophy in general, and how to deal with novel problems?
What does modern academic moral philosophy have to say (i.e. what is the academic consensus as per today) about novel moral problems? In particular, if deontological reasoning is what modern academia ...
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98 views
Which philosophy claims that our moral decisions should be based upon a universal algorithm?
Recently, I advocated here the idea that moral rules should be universal, based upon clear axioms? It should make the opposite for moral imperative.
The idea could encompass both hedonism formulated ...
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1answer
326 views
How would a preference utilitarian decide about cheating on something or lying about something?
I cannot find a reliable example of either. I really just want a practical everyday example of the choice of a preference utilitarian.
Do preferences have weight? Is there some sort of "preference ...
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3answers
441 views
Do utilitarians believe that depressed people should be killed?
Utilitarians believe that the most ethical action is the one which maximizes happiness.
Depressed people are often so sad and unhappy that one might say that their very existence offers the world a ...
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2answers
791 views
Is there any openly pro-mortalist philosopher?
Pro-mortalism is the rather unpopular view that it would be ethical to kill all humanity instantly and painlessly to prevent further suffering if that was feasible. Sam Harris and David Benatar reject ...
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94 views
According to utilitarianism, do temporary conditions affect utility?
I know that utilitarianism does not take time into account when determining which course of action provides the most utility.
Going to a classic utilitarian example, if I kill one person now to save ...
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4answers
2k views
How would a Utilitarian and a Kantian solve this thought experiment?
In this thought experiment, you are a doctor, and you work on a roadside hospital. Only you and another doctor are working in the hospital, and a woman who tried to commit suicide arrives at the ...
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2answers
292 views
Utilitarianism or Kantianism
Which of these two theories is more accepted or has more support in the field of ethics?
It seems that Kantian ethics holds too stringent of rules and the the Universal Law of Formulation is ...
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2answers
245 views
Is it philosophically tenable to refuse a universal moral system?
Recently, I advocated utilitarianism based on consciousness on Change my View subreddit and I was quite suprised by the opposition against the bare idea of a universal moral system. From my limited ...
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444 views
Trolley problem and utilitarianism: which philosophy is which?
My high school debate captain and I were having a discussion. For our purposes, utilitarianism is defined as striving to maximize the "greater good", that is, the best for all of society. Our scenario ...
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298 views
Do intentions play part in objective morality?
This question has been asked similarly a few times, but I don't really understand the answers, and maybe I won't this time. And they don't seem to relate to objective morality.
If we take the stance ...
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1answer
120 views
Aggregate utility and the sadistic theatre
Situation A: 12-year-old Emma leads a happy life and gains U > 0 utility.
Situation B: Emma is continually raped and tortured for an online audience of consumers of sadistic child pornography. She ...
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Is This System of Utility A Significant Improvement For Utilitarianism?
I'll post it here:
NOTE: This post contains LaTeX; it is recommended that you install “TeX the World” (for chromium users), “TeX All the Things” or other TeX/LaTeX extensions to view the post ...
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What is the value of Justice in Utilitarianism?
I've been reading about utilitarianism and am trying to understand the following thought experiment.
A group of hostages are captured by a group of terrorist. One of terrorists, wanting to "have ...
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5answers
608 views
What are the arguments for maximising total utility as opposed to average utility?
I was reading the Wikipedia page on utilitarianism.
I couldn't actually understand that it says that some people argue that attempting to maximise total utility (here utility=happiness) of the human ...
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Trolley problem: preference utilitarians vs. classical utilitarians vs. Kant
I wonder what exactly are the differences and if I am correct with my assumptions. The trolley problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Now:
For the utilitarian, the only morally ...
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2answers
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Mill's Proof and Nozick's Experience Machine
I'm trying to grasp how Mill's claim that the only good is happiness/pleasure is able to respond to Nozick's though experiment.
Humans strive for virtue and other goods only if they are associated ...
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2answers
324 views
Is negative utilitarianism wrong by supporting antinatalism?
The negative utilitarianism states that reduction of suffering is more important than increasing of the happiness. Namely:
"reducing negative well-being is the only thing that ultimately
matters ...
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3answers
268 views
Physicalistic alternatives to utilitarianism?
In one episode, Doctor Who finds out he's trapped on a horror-like island and he finds out his time machine he could escape with is frozen in the hardest rock on earth. He also finds out that every ...
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Is it ethical to confess?
Suppose I have been cheating on my spouse, and I realized that it was wrong from an utilitarian PoV, considering that there is large possibility of the total good being reduced if I'm exposed. So, I ...
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972 views
Act Utilitarianism = Rule Utilitarianism?
I have the following two definitions:
(i) Act Utilitarianism: an act is right iff it produces at least as much total happiness as would any alternative act open to the actor.
(ii) Rule ...
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3answers
274 views
Is it ethical to save tigers?
From a utilitarian point of view, is it ethical to save tigers by creating sanctuaries and criminalizing poaching, when such tigers are known to violently attack humans?
Also, one strain of response ...
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What are good arguments against the moral case for vegetarianism?
There is a strong utilitarian case for a pragmatic type of vegetarianism, based on the idea that eating meat usually causes suffering and that it is wrong to needlessly make something suffer. See this ...
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Animal behavior considered morally neutral?
I have been thinking about utilitarianism a lot lately and am trying to find at what point an action goes from being morally good to morally wrong. For example, if it is morally better (according to ...
