Nick_Tarleton comments on Average utilitarianism must be correct? - Less Wrong

2 Post author: PhilGoetz 06 April 2009 05:10PM

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Comment author: Nick_Tarleton 06 April 2009 11:12:40PM 4 points [-]

The standard answer is killing a person with below-average well-being*, assuming no further consequences follow from this. This assumes dying has zero disutility, however.

See comments on For The People Who Are Still Alive for lots of related discussion.

*The term "experienced utility" seems to be producing a lot of confusion. Utility is a decision-theoretic construction only. Humans, as is, don't have utility functions.

Comment author: CarlShulman 07 April 2009 02:23:29AM 3 points [-]

It also involves maximizing average instantaneous welfare, rather than the average of whole-life satisfaction.

Comment author: ciphergoth 06 April 2009 11:24:08PM 1 point [-]

Yes, I'm surprised that it's average rather than total utility is being measured. All other things being equal, twice as many people is twice as good to me.