Population axiology and the possibility of a fourth category of absolute value Article Swipe

PDF

Related Concepts

Utilitarianism Sadistic personality disorder Neutrality Axiology Value (mathematics) Population Contradiction Positive economics Philosophy Epistemology Sociology Social psychology Psychology Economics Mathematics Statistics Personality Demography Personality disorders

Johan E. Gustafsson ·

YOU? · · 2019 · Open Access · · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267119000087 · OA: W2946351993

Critical-Range Utilitarianism is a variant of Total Utilitarianism which can avoid both the Repugnant Conclusion and the Sadistic Conclusion in population ethics. Yet Standard Critical-Range Utilitarianism entails the Weak Sadistic Conclusion, that is, it entails that each population consisting of lives at a bad well-being level is not worse than some population consisting of lives at a good well-being level. In this paper, I defend a version of Critical-Range Utilitarianism which does not entail the Weak Sadistic Conclusion. This is made possible by what I call ‘undistinguishedness’, a fourth category of absolute value in addition to goodness, badness, and neutrality.