Williams: The appeal of utilitarianism is that in its place it gives you a decision rule that is very easy to calculate. But in fact, it's a paroch victory in that it sacrifices the very thing that is so deeply valued by... Destroy. And other agents as well. Williams: Even in the Jim case where Williams sides with utilitarianism ultimately, he still thinks there's something deeply wrong about it because it seems like a no brainer.
David and Tamler take a break from complaining about psychological studies that measure utilitarianism to complain about the moral theory itself. We talk about one of the most famous critiques of utilitarian theories from Bernard Williams. Does utilitarianism annihilate our integrity--our unity--as people? Would trying to maximize well-being fracture our identities, and swallow up our projects, motivations, and moral convictions--the same convictions that make utilitarianism seem appealing in the first place? Is it ultimately self-defeating as a moral theory?
Plus, we talk about the adventures of Tamler's based step-mom Christina Hoff Sommers' at Lewis and Clark law school. Will David stay woke?
Support Very Bad Wizards
Links: