“Moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_nihilism) Utility functions (aka morality) are (is) in the mind, not in Nature. That would probably be the answer of most LWers. Otherwise, you’ll have to tell me what you mean by morality.
Is utilitarianism used as “maximizing happiness” or “maximizing utility”. If it’s “maximizing utility”, well isn’t that everyone’s position? What differs is simply what counts as “utility”.
That is an inaccurate definition of nihilism because it doesn’t match what nihilists actually believe. Not only do they reject intrinsic morality, they reject all forms of morality altogether. Someone who believes in any kind of moral normativity (e.g. a utilitarian) cannot be a nihilist.
Utilitarianism is used as “the normative ethical theory that one ought to maximize the utility of the world”. This is in contrast to something like egoism (“the normative ethical theory that one ought to maximize one’s own utility”) and other forms of consequentialism.
Do nihilists think they have no goals (aka terminal values) or do nihilists think they don’t have goals about fulfilling others’ goals or is it something else?
Utilitarianism is used as “the normative ethical theory that one ought to maximize the utility of the world”.
Ok so would that be right to say this?:
Utilitarianism is giving equal weight to everyone’s utility function (including yours) in your “meta” utility function.
Egoism means you don’t consider others’ utility function in your utility function.
And then there is everything in-between (meaning giving more weight to your utility function than to other’s utility function in your “meta” utility function).
Do nihilists think they have no goals (aka terminal values) or do nihilists think they don’t have goals about fulfilling others’ goals or is it something else?
I am not a nihilist, and I don’t know if I’d be able to pass an Ideological Turing Test as one, but to give my best answer to this, the nihilist would say that there are no moral oughts. How they connect this to terminal goals varies depending on the nihilist.
Ok so would that be right to say this?: Utilitarianism is giving equal weight to everyone’s utility function (including yours) in your “meta” utility function. Egoism means you don’t consider others’ utility function in your utility function.
The first part, kind of, the second part, no. The utilitarian holds that the right thing to do is determined by what maximizes world utility, which is produced by utility functions. All utility, including your own, is given equal weight in the “moral decision” function. As for egoism, it simply means that you consider others’ utility functions to the degree that they’re a part of your utility function. It doesn’t mean that you disregard them altogether.
“Moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_nihilism) Utility functions (aka morality) are (is) in the mind, not in Nature. That would probably be the answer of most LWers. Otherwise, you’ll have to tell me what you mean by morality.
Is utilitarianism used as “maximizing happiness” or “maximizing utility”. If it’s “maximizing utility”, well isn’t that everyone’s position? What differs is simply what counts as “utility”.
That is an inaccurate definition of nihilism because it doesn’t match what nihilists actually believe. Not only do they reject intrinsic morality, they reject all forms of morality altogether. Someone who believes in any kind of moral normativity (e.g. a utilitarian) cannot be a nihilist.
Utilitarianism is used as “the normative ethical theory that one ought to maximize the utility of the world”. This is in contrast to something like egoism (“the normative ethical theory that one ought to maximize one’s own utility”) and other forms of consequentialism.
Thank you for your answer.
Do nihilists think they have no goals (aka terminal values) or do nihilists think they don’t have goals about fulfilling others’ goals or is it something else?
Ok so would that be right to say this?: Utilitarianism is giving equal weight to everyone’s utility function (including yours) in your “meta” utility function. Egoism means you don’t consider others’ utility function in your utility function.
And then there is everything in-between (meaning giving more weight to your utility function than to other’s utility function in your “meta” utility function).
I am not a nihilist, and I don’t know if I’d be able to pass an Ideological Turing Test as one, but to give my best answer to this, the nihilist would say that there are no moral oughts. How they connect this to terminal goals varies depending on the nihilist.
The first part, kind of, the second part, no. The utilitarian holds that the right thing to do is determined by what maximizes world utility, which is produced by utility functions. All utility, including your own, is given equal weight in the “moral decision” function. As for egoism, it simply means that you consider others’ utility functions to the degree that they’re a part of your utility function. It doesn’t mean that you disregard them altogether.
Ok thanks for your answers!