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Nisan comments on Out of the closet as a Positive Utilitarian - Less Wrong
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So, let me get this straight: When you say that you are a positive utilitarian, you don't mean to say that the best thing one can do is to optimize the amount of happiness in the world. You mean to say that you want to devote yourself to optimizing the amount of happiness in the world. Correct?
ETA: Or are you saying that you want to identify with people who don't think about suffering?
The first one.
that is I am not saying that everyone should be doing something. I am just saying that if someone was not feeling OK because he didn't go all the way into negative utilitarianism, it was still ok to be just positive utilitarianist.
For the sake of concreteness, would you like to say what sort of things a positive utilitarian like you would do to make the world a better place?
Sure, Write Life-advice kinds of books, in Ferriss/AJ Jacobs style Write Philosophical Articles Create a Transhumanist Institution in Brazil, to transform Rationalists into Utilitarians into Transhumanists Organize complex engaging events on facebook for friends that would cause happiness that would not have happened otherwise. Make a lot of people laugh in a cryonics conference and become known as the happiness guy Read many books on happiness, and upon request, give people data on how to be happy (count blessings twice a week, force smiles when bored, write 300 words thank you notes and read them outloud, wear botox, etc...) There are so many other things...
Ah, so you're saying that the best thing one can do is to optimize the amount of happiness in the world. The supporting arguments I found in your post are:
You don't like thinking about suffering; and
One could do a lot worse than be a positive utilitarian.
ETA: Ah, ignore this comment. Those two points don't seem compelling at all.
No, that is absurd, you just said, You are not saying A, you are saying B (in your first paragraph) I said, Yes, I am saying B, and now you said I am saying A......
I am saying that For me, and possibly for other people around there, the best thing is to Max happiness/preferences. I just want these people to feel confortable with that.
I think with the edit I made clear now that I'm not arguing in favor of positive utilitarianism.
It seems that the default assumption is always that if a person is describing a position, they are arguing for it.
Ah, I misunderstood your response before the edit.