Ben_West🔸 comments on Harsanyi’s simple “proof” of utilitarianism

[Ben_West🔸]

Alastair Norcross used the term “thoroughgoing aggregation” for what seems to be linear addition of utilities in particular

Ah, my mistake – I had heard this definition before, which seems slightly different.

I just find the conclusion section really jarring.

Thanks for the suggestion – always tricky to figure out what a “straightforward” consequence is in philosophy.

I changed it to this – curious if you still find it jarring?

Total utilitarianism is a fairly controversial position. The above example where $(1,1)=(2,0)$ can be extended to show that utilitarianism is extremely demanding, potentially requiring extreme sacrifices and inequality. It is therefore interesting that it is the only decision procedure which does not violate one of these seemingly reasonable assumptions.

[Lukas_Gloor]

Ah, my mistake – I had heard this definition before, which seems slightly different.

Probably I was wrong here. After reading this abstract, I realize that the way Norcross wrote about it is compatible with a weaker claim that linear aggregation of utility too. I think I just assumed that he must mean linear aggregation of utility, because everything else would seem weirdly arbitrary. :)

I changed it to this – curious if you still find it jarring?

Less so! The “total” still indicates the same conclusion I thought would be jumping the gun a bit, but if that’s your takeaway it’s certainly fine to leave it. Personally I would just write “utilitarianism” instead of “total utilitarianism.”