The Harry Potter argument is confused. People only have well-being levels when they exist. Fulfiling the hypothetical desires of a hypothetical person doesn't actually do anyone any good: no person newly has positive well-being as a result. By contrast, bringing a happy person into existence *does* do some good (the created person now ha…
The Harry Potter argument is confused. People only have well-being levels when they exist. Fulfiling the hypothetical desires of a hypothetical person doesn't actually do anyone any good: no person newly has positive well-being as a result. By contrast, bringing a happy person into existence *does* do some good (the created person now has positive well-being that they otherwise would not have had). These are not the same.
The Harry Potter argument is confused. People only have well-being levels when they exist. Fulfiling the hypothetical desires of a hypothetical person doesn't actually do anyone any good: no person newly has positive well-being as a result. By contrast, bringing a happy person into existence *does* do some good (the created person now has positive well-being that they otherwise would not have had). These are not the same.