I was thinking on utilitarianism last night about how ultimately we want to
maximize the good in the world – and not diminish any individual’s good at the
expense of the others (pareto optimality) – it made me wonder a couple of things.
First, do the units we use to measure utility in a move from
abstract to something quantifiable all have the same value to all users? Does an
Util face the law of diminishing returns so that if we have one unit of good to
pass around, it would do best to give it to the one who has the lowest absolute
utility?
Secondly, one of my favorite thought experiments that might
hit on moral philosophy is that of the trolley problem, defined in Wikipedia as:
“There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway
tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move.
The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in
the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will
switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one
person on the side track. You have two options:
Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the
main track.
Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track
where it will kill one person.
Which is the most ethical choice?”
How does a utilitarian answer that question and does it
differ from other answers in different philosophical frames?
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