Importance of Agency in Rejecting Utilitarianism

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Utilitarianism fails to acknowledge the concept of adaptive preferences, where individuals settle for less due to lack of exposure to alternatives, reinforcing unjust norms. Utilitarianism also disregards the desire for active agency in life, as highlighted by the idea of a satisfaction machine. Most people prefer to strive and act as agents in their lives rather than passively receive satisfaction. This focus on agency leads to the rejection of utilitarianism in favor of a different approach.

Yascha Mounk and Martha Nussbaum discuss how to reflect on a life lived well.

Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher and the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. Nussbaum is the author of many books, including, most recently, Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Martha Nussbaum discuss the need for an overlapping consensus between citizens of profoundly different beliefs; how regarding animals as sentient beings might change our behavior towards them; and why one ought to be a “happy warrior” for moral causes.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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