I think that what you bring up is a good reason to avoid using happiness as the sole or majority measure for utility or moral value.
Because I doubt you would be at all willing to relocate to the slums of Bombay, even knowing this, and you shouldn’t.
Likewise, swine might get used to (and be as happy) living practically swimming in their own feces and stillborn siblings, but to the extent that we realize that they would really rather not, we shouldn’t force them to. If they are really so mindless as to be indifferent, I don’t see that we should care, but I don’t think that’s the case.
Also, a nitpick; research shows that happiness isn’t correlated with all those things we think make us happy above a threshold. People who starve on a regular basis, or are continually abused really are less happy than the rest of us. We don’t fully adapt to regular torment. The threshold is perhaps shockingly low, but shouldn’t be ignored.
I think that what you bring up is a good reason to avoid using happiness as the sole or majority measure for utility or moral value.
Because I doubt you would be at all willing to relocate to the slums of Bombay, even knowing this, and you shouldn’t.
Likewise, swine might get used to (and be as happy) living practically swimming in their own feces and stillborn siblings, but to the extent that we realize that they would really rather not, we shouldn’t force them to. If they are really so mindless as to be indifferent, I don’t see that we should care, but I don’t think that’s the case.
Also, a nitpick; research shows that happiness isn’t correlated with all those things we think make us happy above a threshold. People who starve on a regular basis, or are continually abused really are less happy than the rest of us. We don’t fully adapt to regular torment. The threshold is perhaps shockingly low, but shouldn’t be ignored.