Fwiw, I think DiGiovanni would happily press a button that, with certainty, removes all unwanted suffering from the universe forever and keeps all else equal. (This could be a first station on another train.)
Do you think it’s conceptually realistic to remove all suffering and keep everything else the same? And if so, how would you define suffering?
The only way I can see things as being all-identical save for the elimination of suffering, is to remove the conscious experience of suffering—to remove consciousness. Do you think that that would be ideal?
Conceptually, yes. In practice, of course not. Surely you can conceptually imagine removing the conscious experience of suffering without removing the rest. I’ve encountered many thought experiments that are hard to imagine, but that’s really not one of them.
I suppose I don’t see that as a better world, then. We feel pain because it gives meaning to the things that we’ve lost. When I lose a loved one, I feel pain, I suffer that loss, but that’s because I wish they were still here. I think it would be a shame to lose that feeling. Or are you suggesting that there would be no death? Because that sounds like a very different world, to me.
Unwanted by you, I guess. Whatever makes you accept the thought experiment and agree that the button should be pushed. This was the point of this discussion.
Fwiw, I think DiGiovanni would happily press a button that, with certainty, removes all unwanted suffering from the universe forever and keeps all else equal. (This could be a first station on another train.)
(P.S. Thanks!)
Do you think it’s conceptually realistic to remove all suffering and keep everything else the same? And if so, how would you define suffering?
The only way I can see things as being all-identical save for the elimination of suffering, is to remove the conscious experience of suffering—to remove consciousness. Do you think that that would be ideal?
Conceptually, yes. In practice, of course not. Surely you can conceptually imagine removing the conscious experience of suffering without removing the rest. I’ve encountered many thought experiments that are hard to imagine, but that’s really not one of them.
I suppose I don’t see that as a better world, then. We feel pain because it gives meaning to the things that we’ve lost. When I lose a loved one, I feel pain, I suffer that loss, but that’s because I wish they were still here. I think it would be a shame to lose that feeling. Or are you suggesting that there would be no death? Because that sounds like a very different world, to me.
I wrote “unwanted suffering” to precisely avoid this kind of reply. 😆
Unwanted by whom? Does everyone get to decide for themselves when they feel suffering, and when they don’t?
Unwanted by you, I guess. Whatever makes you accept the thought experiment and agree that the button should be pushed. This was the point of this discussion.