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superwolf
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http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7138/abs/nature05631.html
Very interesting article. I'm not proud of being an utilitarian anymore.
Very interesting article. I'm not proud of being an utilitarian anymore.
superwolf said:I think I maybe don't have a brain damage after all. I would have if I didn't have emotional opposition to utilitarian choices, but all I am doing is listening to reason instead of irrational feelings. It feels wrong, but I cannot find reasonable arguments to defend my feelings (but plenty to disregard them), and therefore I have no other choice than to remain utilitarian if I want to stay rational.
superwolf said:Maybe avoiding pain isn't rational, but if you accept that it is, utilitarianism is more rational than any other ethical system, because a universal perspective is more coherent than a subjective one.
superwolf said:Maybe avoiding pain isn't rational, but if you accept that it is, utilitarianism is more rational than any other ethical system, because a universal perspective is more coherent than a subjective one.
Taking them into consideration is not the same as giving them equal value.superwolf said:If you want to talk about ethics at all, you have to take all interests into considerations, not just your own.
If you are saying we should minimize it, you are indeed ascribing a negative value to it.And I'm not saying that pain is always bad, I'm saying that we should try to minimize it.
JoeDawg said:Taking them into consideration is not the same as giving them equal value.
JoeDawg said:If you are saying we should minimize it, you are indeed ascribing a negative value to it.
JoeDawg said:The problem with utilitarianism is that it doesn't really tell us much. Pain is bad, pleasure is good, are useful generalizations, but when you apply them to specifics, it becomes completely subjective. Everyone will give you a different interpretation of how much pain is acceptable, and what isn't, and who if anyone should suffer. Its not really a standard at all.
Tyrrany of the majority is not automatically a bad thing. For example, having all traffic signs in the USA posted in English is a good thing. (And they would be completely unusable if we tried to cater to all the minorities, or even just a few of them!)JoeDawg said:Utilitarianism is a useful ethical strategy, but adhering to it as a moral foundation leads to things like the tyranny of the majority
Hurkyl said:Tyrrany of the majority is not automatically a bad thing. For example, having all traffic signs in the USA posted in English is a good thing. (And they would be completely unusable if we tried to cater to all the minorities, or even just a few of them!)
Hurkyl said:Tyrrany of the majority is not automatically a bad thing. For example, having all traffic signs in the USA posted in English is a good thing. (And they would be completely unusable if we tried to cater to all the minorities, or even just a few of them!)
WaveJumper said:It's not automatically a good thing either, it's all relative. If in 100 years the muslim population in the US becomes majority, would it be ok to impose the sharia?
Fear of pain is natural, always giving into that fear is cowardice.superwolf said:Only those sharia laws that don't cause suffering.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that states the best action is the one that maximizes overall happiness or well-being for the majority of people.
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that brain damage can directly cause someone to become a Utilitarian. One's ethical beliefs are often shaped by a combination of personal experiences, cultural values, and rational reasoning.
There is no proven causal relationship between brain damage and the adoption of Utilitarianism as an ethical theory. However, some studies have shown that individuals with certain brain injuries may exhibit more utilitarian-like decision-making due to changes in their emotional processing abilities.
No, Utilitarianism is not considered a mental disorder. It is a philosophical theory that individuals may choose to adopt as a framework for making ethical decisions. It is not classified as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Since Utilitarianism is not a disorder, there is no cure for it. However, individuals with brain damage who exhibit utilitarian-like decision-making may benefit from therapy or rehabilitation to improve their emotional processing abilities and decision-making skills.