Yeah, I meant to convey this in my post but framing it a bit differently — that they are real people with valid moral claims who may exist. I suppose framing it this way is just moving the hypothetical condition elsewhere to emphasize that, if they do exist, they would be real people with real moral claims, and that matters. Maybe that’s confusing though.
BTW, my personal views lean towards a suffering-focused ethics that isn’t seeking to create happy people for their own sake. But I still think that, in coming to that view, I’m concerned with the experience of those hypothetical people in the fuzzy, caring way that utilitarians are charged with disregarding. That’s my main point here. But maybe I just get off the crazy train at my unique stop. I wouldn’t consider tiling the universe with hedonium to be the ultimate act of care/justice, but I suppose someone could feel that way, and thereby make an argument along the same lines.
Agreed there are other issues with longtermism — just wanted to respond to the “it’s not about care or empathy” critique.
Yeah, I meant to convey this in my post but framing it a bit differently — that they are real people with valid moral claims who may exist. I suppose framing it this way is just moving the hypothetical condition elsewhere to emphasize that, if they do exist, they would be real people with real moral claims, and that matters. Maybe that’s confusing though.
BTW, my personal views lean towards a suffering-focused ethics that isn’t seeking to create happy people for their own sake. But I still think that, in coming to that view, I’m concerned with the experience of those hypothetical people in the fuzzy, caring way that utilitarians are charged with disregarding. That’s my main point here. But maybe I just get off the crazy train at my unique stop. I wouldn’t consider tiling the universe with hedonium to be the ultimate act of care/justice, but I suppose someone could feel that way, and thereby make an argument along the same lines.
Agreed there are other issues with longtermism — just wanted to respond to the “it’s not about care or empathy” critique.