(July 25, 2010 at 11:13 am)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: I'm a utilitarian too. I'm not sure of which type, although preference utilitarian does seem logical to me. And outright "rule" utilitarianism I find illogical because ultimately if there is more utility in breaking a rule at some point, then it should be done so.
Rule utilitarianism basically turns into act utilitarianism, because it says the rules can be broken in extreme circumstances (at least, that was my understanding), so, as you say, you may as well assess each situation individually. There is something to be said, though, for working out general principles which maximise utility most of the time, for things like murder and stealing.
Other forms of utilitarianism that I can think of include negative utilitarianism, which believes that minimising pain is more important than maximising pleasure. Again, there's some sense to this, as most people prioritise the avoidance of pain (arguably), but the logical conclusion is that the world would be better off not existing if all the pain in it consisted of a single pin-prick. So, some balance between pain and pleasure, or fulfilled interests and violated interests, seems sensible.
What would you say?
'We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.' H.L. Mencken
'False religion' is the ultimate tautology.
'It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.' Mark Twain
'I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.' Abraham Lincoln
'False religion' is the ultimate tautology.
'It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.' Mark Twain
'I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.' Abraham Lincoln
