Favorite Philosophers?

[Edwardo Piet]

I'm getting into Popper. I plan on reading his work in political philosophy. "Enemies of the Open Society" or something like that. Negative utilitarianism sounds really cool too. I hadn't heard of it before your post, but I googled it, and it makes a lot of sense. Why do you like the theory? Does it stand up to arguments that plain old utilitarianism can't?

I take elements from negative utilitarianism but I dunno if I count as a utilitarian seen as I don't actually aggregate utility. I guess I'm a conequentalist or a utilitarian that doesn't aggregate utility.

Negative utilitarianism is superior to the standard kind because it focuses on minimizing suffering more than it focuses on maximizing pleasure. Which is far more morally relevant as far as I am concerned. If someone is already okay and not suffering... then them experiencing intense pleasure and becoming super happy isn't as morally important as helping people who are actually suffering.

Wow. You know your metaphysics, dude. I am somewhat familiar with Kant's phenomena/noumena (I'd have to refresh my memory) and I'm fascinated how it might relate to hedonism or utilitarianism. Kant's ethics are not consequentialist, that much I know. I'd be interested to hear how his metaphysics relates to a brand of ethics he rejects. (I'll click on the link you left at some point.) I've read a good bit of Kant (not as much as you, obviously). But I haven't read any Husserl at all. Anything you can recommend which is a decent introduction to his thought?

Phenomenology has impacted my actual life because it has helped me overcome the paradox of hedonism. It no longer makes sense for me to search for happiness itself when all the so-called external pleasures are in fact my internal phenomenology. We never truly experience objective reality. There is no such thing as 'happiness itself'... our positive experiences don't cause happiness, they are happiness.