“If you hate being bullied for being a nerd, why do you study physics and watch anime so much?”
puts consequentialist jersey on
If I expect to be better off studying physics and watching anime, I should do so. Otherwise, I shouldn’t.
puts acausal wristband on
Considering what I would want to have precommitted to wouldn’t matter much—I would likely be bullied even if I had precommitted to study physics and watch anime no matter how much I was bullied, as it’s not likely that they bully me in order to deter me from studying physics and watching anime. (And it’s extremely unlikely that a man catcalls a woman in order to deter her from dressing up.)
Considering that people sufficiently similar to me in sufficiently similar situations will make similar choices—well, the world would be a worse place if more people had refrained from studying physics for fear of being bullied. OTOH watching anime doesn’t have any important externalities (that, say, watching Hollywood sitcoms doesn’t also have), as far as I can tell.
“Since the benefits of studying physics and watching anime outweigh the costs of being bullied, why are you complaining that you can’t have it both ways?”
If I expect to be better off if I complain/have precommitted to complain (and so have people sufficiently similar to me in sufficiently similar situations), then I should complain, otherwise I shouldn’t. ISTM that complaining gives visibility to the issue of people being bullied, which can’t be bad. (Well, bullies might retaliate, but if I had precommitted to complain whether or not I fear they retaliate...)
‘I have a right to study physics and watch anime; they have no right to bully me’
“I have a right to X” translates into consequentialistese as “I had better not be deterred from X”. Should we deter people from studying physics, so that they won’t be bullied? Of course not—they are already taking into account that they might be bullied when deciding whether to study physics; plus, if fewer people studied physics, bullies would likely just vent off their frustrations on someone else. (OTOH we should tell/remind people that unfortunately studying physics may lead to being bullied, in case they don’t already know/have forgotten—if we could find a way to put that whose drawbacks wouldn’t outweigh the benefits.) Should we deter people from bullying nerds? Of course we should.
“If you hate being bullied for being a nerd, why do you study physics and watch anime so much?”
puts consequentialist jersey on
If I expect to be better off studying physics and watching anime, I should do so. Otherwise, I shouldn’t.
puts acausal wristband on
Considering what I would want to have precommitted to wouldn’t matter much—I would likely be bullied even if I had precommitted to study physics and watch anime no matter how much I was bullied, as it’s not likely that they bully me in order to deter me from studying physics and watching anime. (And it’s extremely unlikely that a man catcalls a woman in order to deter her from dressing up.)
Considering that people sufficiently similar to me in sufficiently similar situations will make similar choices—well, the world would be a worse place if more people had refrained from studying physics for fear of being bullied. OTOH watching anime doesn’t have any important externalities (that, say, watching Hollywood sitcoms doesn’t also have), as far as I can tell.
If I expect to be better off if I complain/have precommitted to complain (and so have people sufficiently similar to me in sufficiently similar situations), then I should complain, otherwise I shouldn’t. ISTM that complaining gives visibility to the issue of people being bullied, which can’t be bad. (Well, bullies might retaliate, but if I had precommitted to complain whether or not I fear they retaliate...)
“I have a right to X” translates into consequentialistese as “I had better not be deterred from X”. Should we deter people from studying physics, so that they won’t be bullied? Of course not—they are already taking into account that they might be bullied when deciding whether to study physics; plus, if fewer people studied physics, bullies would likely just vent off their frustrations on someone else. (OTOH we should tell/remind people that unfortunately studying physics may lead to being bullied, in case they don’t already know/have forgotten—if we could find a way to put that whose drawbacks wouldn’t outweigh the benefits.) Should we deter people from bullying nerds? Of course we should.
You’re welcome. takes wristband and jersey off