And you are right, by Jove, these philosophers really like to go on about it—ie.the whole issue could be summarized as the question whether we should optimize for AVG(good) or for SUM(good) -- and some variations. A question that ultimately cannot be answered. The length of the bibliography makes it almost comical.
The main problem I have with AVG is that it implies that as population increases, inherent value of each individual decreases. Why should you be suddenly less important simply because someone else was just born? (I don’t mean the instrumental components of your value but your inherent value)
Thanks for the link.
And you are right, by Jove, these philosophers really like to go on about it—ie.the whole issue could be summarized as the question whether we should optimize for AVG(good) or for SUM(good) -- and some variations. A question that ultimately cannot be answered. The length of the bibliography makes it almost comical.
The main problem I have with AVG is that it implies that as population increases, inherent value of each individual decreases. Why should you be suddenly less important simply because someone else was just born? (I don’t mean the instrumental components of your value but your inherent value)