It is also not good to cause an existing person to become miserable… But in most cases, it seems to me that being disowned by the man you call “father” is worse than raising a child for 13 or 18 years.
Ah, so that’s how your theory works!
Nisan, if you don’t give me $10000 right now, I will be miserable. Also I’m Russian while you presumably live in a Western country, dollars carry more weight here, so by giving the money to me you will be increasing total utility.
If I’m going to give away $10,000, I’d rather give it to Sudanese refugees. But I see your point: You value some people’s welfare over others.
A father rejecting his illegitimate 3-year-old child reveals an asymmetry that I find troubling: The father no longer feels close to the child; but the child still feels close to the father, closer than you feel you are to me.
Life is full of such asymmetry. If I fall in love with a girl, that doesn’t make her owe me money.
At this point it’s pretty clear that I resent your moral system and I very much resent your idea of converting others to it. Maybe we should drop this discussion.
Ah, so that’s how your theory works!
Nisan, if you don’t give me $10000 right now, I will be miserable. Also I’m Russian while you presumably live in a Western country, dollars carry more weight here, so by giving the money to me you will be increasing total utility.
If I’m going to give away $10,000, I’d rather give it to Sudanese refugees. But I see your point: You value some people’s welfare over others.
A father rejecting his illegitimate 3-year-old child reveals an asymmetry that I find troubling: The father no longer feels close to the child; but the child still feels close to the father, closer than you feel you are to me.
Life is full of such asymmetry. If I fall in love with a girl, that doesn’t make her owe me money.
At this point it’s pretty clear that I resent your moral system and I very much resent your idea of converting others to it. Maybe we should drop this discussion.