feotakahari (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feotakahari) wrote2018-12-08 07:10 pm
feotakahari) wrote2018-12-08 07:10 pm
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An introduction to what Utilitarianism isn’t
Edit: I haven't added entries to this page for a long time, but I think it's worth keeping stickied, just as an introduction.
Any blog should start off by introducing its subject, but in theory, Utilitarianism is quite simple. It’s a theory of ethics under which you should take whatever actions will lead to the greatest happiness for everyone involved. There are no other rules or restrictions–just make as many people as happy as you can make them.
So to make this more interesting, let’s go over some of the things Utilitarians DON’T have.
1): Retribution. One of the most heartfelt arguments I’ve seen against Utilitarianism is that it doesn’t advocate hurting people who’ve done bad things. I find it unnerving that this is even an argument. Nothing a person could possibly do could make them stop being a human being, and violence against human beings should be reserved for when there are no other options left. A Utilitarian focuses heavily on rehabilitation, or confinement for those who can’t or won’t change.
Topic: Where the Bad People Go
2): Equality. In theory, making the happiest person in the world much, much happier would be preferable to making the most miserable person in the world just slightly happier. In practice, there’s a limit to how happy you can really make someone, whereas deeply unhappy people can cover a lot of ground to reach a point where they’re happy with themselves and their lives. I don’t have much more to say than that, so I won’t cover it more unless someone has a question.
3): Moral purity. There is never such a thing as a person who acts as a perfect Utilitarian at every moment of their life. No matter how much good you do in the world, there’s always more you could be doing if you weren’t watching TV or playing video games or blogging on Tumblr about Utilitarianism. Other beliefs may be able to draw a distinction between people who follow the rules and people who break them, but every Utilitarian is a rulebreaker by virtue of simply being human, and can’t stand on a pedestal in order to criticize other people who do bad things.
Topics: Stop! You Violated the Law!; You Might be a Rapist. Yes, I Mean You, Utilitarianism Is Not a God
4): Clean hands. There are a lot of actions that immediately strike people as wrong, like theft, murder, and treason. Each of these can potentially be defended as necessary to achieve the most utility in a given situation. This is where I’m most interested in talking, and where I’ll spend the most of my time considering, rejecting, subverting, and reconsidering what a good Utilitarian and a good person can and can’t do. The most I’ll say for now is that if your instincts say something’s fishy, there’s usually a good reason why.
Topics: When a Trolley in an Arena Hits a Doctor Harvesting Organs From a Lonesome Stranger; Lee Hurst is a Ticking Time Bomb; The Speluncean Explorers vs. the Sinking Boat; Robin Hood: The Economic Utilitarian; Utilitarianism: Ethics for Gamblers
5): Pretty much everything else. Freedom? Don’t care, unless it leads to utility. Piety? Don’t care, unless it leads to utility. These aren’t subjects I normally think about, but I’ll address them if they come up.
Topics: The Fresh New Taste of Ethics; Ontological Importance; The Cycle of Sacrifice 1, 2; Simply Too Stupid to Live; The Ever-Growing Rulebook
Miscellaneous (arguing about religion): The Two Rabbis and Jesus; I Love Fluffy Bunnies; Anselm’s Ontological Argument; I Do Not Care About Islam; The World You Need; “Should,” “Does,” and Safety, Genocide By Ignorance; It's Not Okay; On Hating Gods; Your Heaven Is Your Own; Nothing Happens For a Reason; Lost in Translation; I Fall to Pieces
Miscellaneous (other): The Ethics of Superheroes 1, 2, 3; Utilitarianism and Abortion; I Am Not Rational; Instant Win Conditions; Evil; A List of Reasons Why I’ll Give Up Talking to You; I Am Thou, Thou Art Everyone; The Unbearable Whiteness of Being; You Almost DID It; What I Have to Give
Fiction for Utilitarians (Analyses and Recommendations): Assassination Classroom; Bioshock 2; Blasphemous; Elsinore; Ender’s Game; End Roll 1, 2; Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory; The Forgotten City; Guardians of the Flame vs. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas; The Gulf Between; Invisible Man; Last Scenario; Loophole; The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories 1, 2; My Hero Academia vs. Unordinary; Paranoia Agent vs. Persona 5; Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice; Pillars of Eternity; Prey (2017); Pyre; The Severing Crime Edge; The Sexy Brutale; Thalia’s Musings, Zanki Zero
A big thank you to L.B. Lee for convincing me that people might actually want to listen to my rambling. Just be warned that now you’ve started me talking, it’ll be hard to get me to stop.
Any blog should start off by introducing its subject, but in theory, Utilitarianism is quite simple. It’s a theory of ethics under which you should take whatever actions will lead to the greatest happiness for everyone involved. There are no other rules or restrictions–just make as many people as happy as you can make them.
So to make this more interesting, let’s go over some of the things Utilitarians DON’T have.
1): Retribution. One of the most heartfelt arguments I’ve seen against Utilitarianism is that it doesn’t advocate hurting people who’ve done bad things. I find it unnerving that this is even an argument. Nothing a person could possibly do could make them stop being a human being, and violence against human beings should be reserved for when there are no other options left. A Utilitarian focuses heavily on rehabilitation, or confinement for those who can’t or won’t change.
Topic: Where the Bad People Go
2): Equality. In theory, making the happiest person in the world much, much happier would be preferable to making the most miserable person in the world just slightly happier. In practice, there’s a limit to how happy you can really make someone, whereas deeply unhappy people can cover a lot of ground to reach a point where they’re happy with themselves and their lives. I don’t have much more to say than that, so I won’t cover it more unless someone has a question.
3): Moral purity. There is never such a thing as a person who acts as a perfect Utilitarian at every moment of their life. No matter how much good you do in the world, there’s always more you could be doing if you weren’t watching TV or playing video games or blogging on Tumblr about Utilitarianism. Other beliefs may be able to draw a distinction between people who follow the rules and people who break them, but every Utilitarian is a rulebreaker by virtue of simply being human, and can’t stand on a pedestal in order to criticize other people who do bad things.
Topics: Stop! You Violated the Law!; You Might be a Rapist. Yes, I Mean You, Utilitarianism Is Not a God
4): Clean hands. There are a lot of actions that immediately strike people as wrong, like theft, murder, and treason. Each of these can potentially be defended as necessary to achieve the most utility in a given situation. This is where I’m most interested in talking, and where I’ll spend the most of my time considering, rejecting, subverting, and reconsidering what a good Utilitarian and a good person can and can’t do. The most I’ll say for now is that if your instincts say something’s fishy, there’s usually a good reason why.
Topics: When a Trolley in an Arena Hits a Doctor Harvesting Organs From a Lonesome Stranger; Lee Hurst is a Ticking Time Bomb; The Speluncean Explorers vs. the Sinking Boat; Robin Hood: The Economic Utilitarian; Utilitarianism: Ethics for Gamblers
5): Pretty much everything else. Freedom? Don’t care, unless it leads to utility. Piety? Don’t care, unless it leads to utility. These aren’t subjects I normally think about, but I’ll address them if they come up.
Topics: The Fresh New Taste of Ethics; Ontological Importance; The Cycle of Sacrifice 1, 2; Simply Too Stupid to Live; The Ever-Growing Rulebook
Miscellaneous (arguing about religion): The Two Rabbis and Jesus; I Love Fluffy Bunnies; Anselm’s Ontological Argument; I Do Not Care About Islam; The World You Need; “Should,” “Does,” and Safety, Genocide By Ignorance; It's Not Okay; On Hating Gods; Your Heaven Is Your Own; Nothing Happens For a Reason; Lost in Translation; I Fall to Pieces
Miscellaneous (other): The Ethics of Superheroes 1, 2, 3; Utilitarianism and Abortion; I Am Not Rational; Instant Win Conditions; Evil; A List of Reasons Why I’ll Give Up Talking to You; I Am Thou, Thou Art Everyone; The Unbearable Whiteness of Being; You Almost DID It; What I Have to Give
Fiction for Utilitarians (Analyses and Recommendations): Assassination Classroom; Bioshock 2; Blasphemous; Elsinore; Ender’s Game; End Roll 1, 2; Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory; The Forgotten City; Guardians of the Flame vs. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas; The Gulf Between; Invisible Man; Last Scenario; Loophole; The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories 1, 2; My Hero Academia vs. Unordinary; Paranoia Agent vs. Persona 5; Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice; Pillars of Eternity; Prey (2017); Pyre; The Severing Crime Edge; The Sexy Brutale; Thalia’s Musings, Zanki Zero
A big thank you to L.B. Lee for convincing me that people might actually want to listen to my rambling. Just be warned that now you’ve started me talking, it’ll be hard to get me to stop.