Forgive me if this has been covered before. The internet here is flaking out and it makes it hard to search for answers.
What is the correct answer to the following scenario: Is it preferable to have one person be tortured if it gives 3^^^3 people a miniscule amount of pleasure?
The source of this question was me pondering the claim, “Pain is temporary; a good story lasts forever.”
What is the correct answer to the following scenario: Is it preferable to have one person be tortured if it gives 3^^^3 people a miniscule amount of pleasure?
Is it preferable to have one person be tortured if it gives 3^^^3 people a miniscule amount of pleasure?
Great question, and if it has been covered before on this site, I haven’t seen it. Philosophers have discussed whether or not “sadistic” pleasure from others’ suffering should be included in utilitarian calculations, and in fact this is one of the classic arguments against (some types of) utilitarianism, along with the utility monster and the organ lottery.
One possible answer is that utilitarians should maximize other terminal values besides just pleasure, and that sadistic pleasures like this go against the total of our terminal values, so utilitarians shouldn’t allow these to cancel out torture.
Forgive me if this has been covered before. The internet here is flaking out and it makes it hard to search for answers.
What is the correct answer to the following scenario: Is it preferable to have one person be tortured if it gives 3^^^3 people a miniscule amount of pleasure?
The source of this question was me pondering the claim, “Pain is temporary; a good story lasts forever.”
Yes.
Great question, and if it has been covered before on this site, I haven’t seen it. Philosophers have discussed whether or not “sadistic” pleasure from others’ suffering should be included in utilitarian calculations, and in fact this is one of the classic arguments against (some types of) utilitarianism, along with the utility monster and the organ lottery.
One possible answer is that utilitarians should maximize other terminal values besides just pleasure, and that sadistic pleasures like this go against the total of our terminal values, so utilitarians shouldn’t allow these to cancel out torture.