Doug_S. comments on The "Intuitions" Behind "Utilitarianism" - Less Wrong

29 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 28 January 2008 04:29PM

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Comment author: Doug_S. 29 January 2008 08:13:00PM 1 point [-]

Hmmm... What can we actually agree on?

The disutility of a pain is a function of the Number of people who experience the pain, the Intensity of the pain, and the Time the pain lasts. It also an increasing function of all three: all else being equal, a pain experienced by more people is worse than one experienced by less people, a more intense pain is worse than a less intense pain, and a longer pain is worse than a shorter one. Or, more formally,

U = f(N,I,T)

∂U/∂N > 0 (for I,T > 0)
∂U/∂I > 0 (for N,T > 0)
∂U/∂T > 0 (for N,I > 0)
[In case that symbol doesn't display properly, it's supposed to be a partial derivative sign.]

Furthermore, for all finite N,I,T:
U(0,I,T) = 0
U(N,0,T) = 0
U(N,I,0) = 0

Do we at least agree on that much?