My previous comment didn't go through for some reason. I broadly agree with your thoughts that utopia is better than a barren world. A picture of a lifeless world is the one from which I recoil. However, I am not yet convinced on the other part. We give surgery patients anesthesia to avert the agony they would feel if they remained consc…
My previous comment didn't go through for some reason. I broadly agree with your thoughts that utopia is better than a barren world. A picture of a lifeless world is the one from which I recoil. However, I am not yet convinced on the other part. We give surgery patients anesthesia to avert the agony they would feel if they remained conscious. Suppose some drug became available that gave people a joy as intense as the pain averted by anesthesia, and suppose that there were no drawbacks in the consumption of this drug. Doesn't it seem plausible to you that the provision of this drug would be less important than the administration of anesthesia?
Yeah, I find that plausible; but that's largely because pleasure doesn't strike me as an especially important good. A better example to illustrate that goods can outweigh bads is the wisdom of the old saying, "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
Oh, that's very interesting. What goods would you consider to be the most important then? Is it like a plurality of wisdom, achievement, fulfillment, etc?
My previous comment didn't go through for some reason. I broadly agree with your thoughts that utopia is better than a barren world. A picture of a lifeless world is the one from which I recoil. However, I am not yet convinced on the other part. We give surgery patients anesthesia to avert the agony they would feel if they remained conscious. Suppose some drug became available that gave people a joy as intense as the pain averted by anesthesia, and suppose that there were no drawbacks in the consumption of this drug. Doesn't it seem plausible to you that the provision of this drug would be less important than the administration of anesthesia?
Yeah, I find that plausible; but that's largely because pleasure doesn't strike me as an especially important good. A better example to illustrate that goods can outweigh bads is the wisdom of the old saying, "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
Oh, that's very interesting. What goods would you consider to be the most important then? Is it like a plurality of wisdom, achievement, fulfillment, etc?