Would you mind linking some posts or articles assessing the expected value of the long-term future?
You’re right to question this as it is an important consideration. The Global Priorities Institute has highlighted “The value of the future of humanity” in their research agenda (pages 10-13). Have a look at the “existing informal discussion” on pages 12 and 13, some of which argues that the expected value of the future is positive.
Sure, it’s possible that some form of eugenics or genetic engineering could be implemented to raise the average hedonic set-point
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was saying that even if we reach the limits of individual happiness, we can just create more and more humans to increase total happiness.
Thanks. Although whether increasing the population is a good thing depends of if you are an average utilitarian or a total utilitarian. With more people, both the number of hedons and dolors will increase, with a ratio between hedons to dolors skewed in favor of hedons. If you’re a total utilitarian, the net hedons will be higher with more people, so adding more people is rational. If you’re a total utilitarian, the ratio of hedons to dolors and the average level of happiness per capita will be roughly the same, so adding more people wouldn’t necessarily increase expected utility.
Yes that is true. For what it’s worth most people who have looked into population ethics at all reject average utilitarianism as it has some extremely unintuitive implications like the “sadistic conclusion” whereby one can make things better by bringing into existence people with terrible lives, as long as they’re still bringing up the average wellbeing level by doing so i.e. if existing people have even worse lives.
You’re right to question this as it is an important consideration. The Global Priorities Institute has highlighted “The value of the future of humanity” in their research agenda (pages 10-13). Have a look at the “existing informal discussion” on pages 12 and 13, some of which argues that the expected value of the future is positive.
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was saying that even if we reach the limits of individual happiness, we can just create more and more humans to increase total happiness.
Thanks. Although whether increasing the population is a good thing depends of if you are an average utilitarian or a total utilitarian. With more people, both the number of hedons and dolors will increase, with a ratio between hedons to dolors skewed in favor of hedons. If you’re a total utilitarian, the net hedons will be higher with more people, so adding more people is rational. If you’re a total utilitarian, the ratio of hedons to dolors and the average level of happiness per capita will be roughly the same, so adding more people wouldn’t necessarily increase expected utility.
Yes that is true. For what it’s worth most people who have looked into population ethics at all reject average utilitarianism as it has some extremely unintuitive implications like the “sadistic conclusion” whereby one can make things better by bringing into existence people with terrible lives, as long as they’re still bringing up the average wellbeing level by doing so i.e. if existing people have even worse lives.