At heart, utilitarianism feels like what you get when you ask yourself, “would I rather see few people hurt than many, many people happy rather than few, and how important do I think that to be”, answer “I’d rather see few people hurt, rather see many people happy, and this is important”, and then apply that systematically. Or if you just imagine yourself as having one miserable or fantastic experience, and then ask yourself what it would be like to have that experience many times over, or whether the impact of that experience is at all diminished just because it happens to many different people. Basically, utilitarianism feels like applied empathy.
Indeed. “utilitarianism feels like what you get when you ask” this, let you empathy take over and think it to its ‘logical conclusion’.
The problem I have with this kind of reasoning that it leads into extremes that don’t match up with your other values. Oh it might not look like a conflict. But I sometimes get the impression that this is because the daubt is compartmentalized away because the empathy is such a positively valued emotion and not following it feels wrong.
I have to admit that me not being a utilitarian I don’t have a clear cut answer of how to rationally act on my empathy either. The problem with complex value functions is that there are no simple answers and utilitarianism suspiciously looks like another simplistic answer to a complex problem.
Why are you utilitarian?
Inspired by this.
At heart, utilitarianism feels like what you get when you ask yourself, “would I rather see few people hurt than many, many people happy rather than few, and how important do I think that to be”, answer “I’d rather see few people hurt, rather see many people happy, and this is important”, and then apply that systematically. Or if you just imagine yourself as having one miserable or fantastic experience, and then ask yourself what it would be like to have that experience many times over, or whether the impact of that experience is at all diminished just because it happens to many different people. Basically, utilitarianism feels like applied empathy.
So, if someone lacks empathy, utilitarianism is senseless to them?
Well, the particular rationale that I gave might be. Possibly they might find it sensible for some other reason.
Indeed. “utilitarianism feels like what you get when you ask” this, let you empathy take over and think it to its ‘logical conclusion’.
The problem I have with this kind of reasoning that it leads into extremes that don’t match up with your other values. Oh it might not look like a conflict. But I sometimes get the impression that this is because the daubt is compartmentalized away because the empathy is such a positively valued emotion and not following it feels wrong.
I have to admit that me not being a utilitarian I don’t have a clear cut answer of how to rationally act on my empathy either. The problem with complex value functions is that there are no simple answers and utilitarianism suspiciously looks like another simplistic answer to a complex problem.