I don’t think it’s true that other things are equal on the intuition of neutrality, after saying there are more deaths in A than B. The lives and deaths of the contingent/future people in A wouldn’t count at all on symmetric person-affecting views (narrow or wide). On some asymmetric person-affecting views, they might count, but the bad lives count fully, while the additional good lives only offset (possibly fully offset) but never outweigh the additional bad lives, so the extra lives and deaths need not count on net.
On the intuition of neutrality, there are more deaths that count in B, basically except if you’re an antinatalist (about this case).
What person-affecting views satisfying neutrality do you imagine would recommend B/extinction/taking precautions against A here?
For an argument against neutrality that isn’t just against antinatalism, I think you want to define B so that it’s better than or as good as A for necessary people. For example, the virus in B makes everyone infertile without killing them (but the virus in A kills people). Or, fewer people are killed early on in B, and the rest decide not to have children. Or, the deaths in A (for the necessary people) are painful and extended, but painless in B.
I don’t think it’s true that other things are equal on the intuition of neutrality, after saying there are more deaths in A than B. The lives and deaths of the contingent/future people in A wouldn’t count at all on symmetric person-affecting views (narrow or wide). On some asymmetric person-affecting views, they might count, but the bad lives count fully, while the additional good lives only offset (possibly fully offset) but never outweigh the additional bad lives, so the extra lives and deaths need not count on net.
On the intuition of neutrality, there are more deaths that count in B, basically except if you’re an antinatalist (about this case).
What person-affecting views satisfying neutrality do you imagine would recommend B/extinction/taking precautions against A here?
For an argument against neutrality that isn’t just against antinatalism, I think you want to define B so that it’s better than or as good as A for necessary people. For example, the virus in B makes everyone infertile without killing them (but the virus in A kills people). Or, fewer people are killed early on in B, and the rest decide not to have children. Or, the deaths in A (for the necessary people) are painful and extended, but painless in B.