RE: Interesting statistics about academic philosophy
September 17, 2015 at 12:11 pm
(This post was last modified: September 17, 2015 at 12:27 pm by robvalue.)
Hmm. Actually, finding out which actions cause the most pleasure and pain is just physics isn't it? If you scan the brain and find a way to empirically test for pleasure and pain, bob's your uncle.
Two big reasons I find objective morality nonsensical are how exactly wellbeing is measured "objectively" and how intent is disregarded. Someone telling me such and such is more important to my wellbeing than some other factor is pretty pointless if I don't agree.
Here's a silly example to make the point:
My child is born, and it's found he has a rare condition. I have two options.
(1) I do nothing. He will live as normal, but will die at the age of 10.
(2) I let the doctor give him treatment. It's a one off, and must be administered before he reaches the age of 1. He will live another 10 years, but he'll be in a certain amount of pain constantly.
Which is objectively the more moral choice? I'd say there isn't one. There is no objective way to compare lifespan and pain, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone is going to come to their own conclusions and no one can declare they are right. This is just one way in which I don't consider wellbeing objectively measurable. We could come up with a formula which gives a rough estimate, sure. But it will only ever be that.
Two big reasons I find objective morality nonsensical are how exactly wellbeing is measured "objectively" and how intent is disregarded. Someone telling me such and such is more important to my wellbeing than some other factor is pretty pointless if I don't agree.
Here's a silly example to make the point:
My child is born, and it's found he has a rare condition. I have two options.
(1) I do nothing. He will live as normal, but will die at the age of 10.
(2) I let the doctor give him treatment. It's a one off, and must be administered before he reaches the age of 1. He will live another 10 years, but he'll be in a certain amount of pain constantly.
Which is objectively the more moral choice? I'd say there isn't one. There is no objective way to compare lifespan and pain, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone is going to come to their own conclusions and no one can declare they are right. This is just one way in which I don't consider wellbeing objectively measurable. We could come up with a formula which gives a rough estimate, sure. But it will only ever be that.
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