Swimmer963 (Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg) | v1.12.0Sep 25th 2020 | reviewed, tagged posts | ||
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steven0461 | v1.6.0Jun 28th 2012 | (+37) /* See also */ | ||
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Infinities in ethics pose some difficult problems. For example, if we're in a big world, there are already infinite numbers of good and bad things. Adding or removing finitely many of them leaves infinitely many of both. This means aggregative consequentialist theories (those that maximize the sum of the values of individual structures) will be indifferent between any acts with merely finite effects. For example, ifIf you save the whales, there will be infinitely many whales, but if you don't save the whales, there will also be infinitely many whales.
Infinities in ethics pose some difficult problems. For example, if we're in a big world, there are already infinite numbers of good and bad things. Adding or removing finitely many of them leaves infinitely many of both. This means aggregative consequentialist theories (those that maximize the sum of the values of individual structures) will be indifferent between any acts with merely finite effects. For example, if you save the whales, there will be infinitely many whales, but if you don't save the whales, there will also be infinitely many whales.
Nick Bostrom wrote a paper discussing various possible solutions to this problem of "infinitarian paralysis" (as well as the "fanaticism" problem of theories that would sacrifice anything for a small chance of an infinite payoff). The solutions fall into three classes:
For example, one could look at
Infinities in ethics pose some difficult problems in ethics.problems. For example, if we're in a big world, there are already infinite numbers of good and bad things. Adding or removing finitely many of them leaves infinitely many of both. This means aggregative consequentialist theories (those that maximize the sum of the values of individual structures) will be indifferent between any acts with merely finite effects.
Infinities pose some difficult problems in ethics. For example, if we're in a big world, there are already infinite numbers of good and bad things. Adding or removing a finite numberfinitely many of them leaves infinitely many of both. This means aggregative consequentialist theories (those that maximize the sum of the values of individual structures) will be indifferent between any acts with merely finite effects.
Infinities in ethics pose some difficult problems. For example, if
we're in abig world,the universe is infinite, there are already infinite numbers of good and bad things. Adding or removing finitely many of them leaves infinitely many of both. This means aggregative consequentialist theories (those that maximize the sum of the values of individual structures) will be indifferent between any acts with merely finite effects. If you save the whales, there will be infinitely many whales, but if you don't save the whales, there will also be infinitely many whales.