Lightwave comments on A (small) critique of total utilitarianism - Less Wrong

36 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 26 June 2012 12:36PM

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Comment author: Lightwave 26 June 2012 08:48:26PM 0 points [-]

But this happens exactly because interpersonal (hedonistic) utility comparison is possible.

Comment author: shminux 26 June 2012 09:25:11PM 0 points [-]

Right, if you cannot compare utilities, you are safe from the repugnant conclusion.

On the other hand, this is not very useful instrumentally, as a functioning society necessarily requires arbitration of individual wants. Thus some utilities must be comparable, even if others might not be. Finding a boundary between the two runs into the standard problem of two nearly identical preferences being qualitatively different.