Utilitarianism glossary by ChatGPT-4

Source: OpenAI ChapGPT
Date: 2023

ChatGPT on Utilitarian Terminology

Responses by ChatGPT-4 October 2023.

List some utilitarian terms with definitions for a glossary of utilitarianism (regenerated)

Utilitarianism: An ethical theory that holds the best action is the one that maximizes utility, usually defined as that which produces the greatest well-being of the greatest number.
Utility: A measure of the overall happiness, satisfaction, or well-being that an action produces.
Hedonism: The belief that pleasure is the only intrinsic good and pain is the only intrinsic bad.
Hedonic Calculus: A method proposed by Jeremy Bentham to weigh the pleasure and pain resulting from an action, taking into account various factors like intensity, duration, and likelihood.
Act Utilitarianism: The belief that an action is right if and only if it promotes more utility than any other action available in the situation.
Rule Utilitarianism: The belief that an action is right if and only if it conforms to a rule that, if universally followed, would produce the most utility.
Preference Utilitarianism: A form of utilitarianism which holds that the best action is the one that fulfills the most preferences or desires of individuals involved.
Total Utility: The sum total of utility for all individuals affected by an action.
Average Utility: The average amount of utility per individual affected by an action.
Consequentialism: The broader ethical theory that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its consequences. Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism.
Negative Utilitarianism: A variation of utilitarianism which prioritizes the minimization of suffering over the maximization of pleasure.
Higher and Lower Pleasures: A distinction made by John Stuart Mill between pleasures that engage our higher faculties (e.g., intellectual and moral pleasures) and those that satisfy basic desires or bodily needs.
Utility Monster: A hypothetical being that gets immensely more utility from resources than others. It's a thought experiment that raises questions about the implications of maximizing utility.
Eudaimonia: Often translated as "flourishing" or "well-being." While not strictly utilitarian, some utilitarians argue for a conception of utility that is more complex than mere pleasure and pain, incorporating aspects of eudaimonia.
Instrumental Good: Something that is valuable not for its own sake, but because it leads to something else that is good. For utilitarians, many things are instrumentally good if they lead to greater overall utility.
Principle of Utility: The principle that states the best action is the one that maximizes utility.
Felicitous Calculus: Another term for Bentham's Hedonic Calculus. It's a method to measure the pleasure or pain produced by an action.
Utility Function: A mathematical function that represents a person's preference ordering over a set of possible outcomes or bundles of goods.
Disutility: The opposite of utility. It represents the unhappiness or harm that an action produces.
Equal Consideration: A principle that states every individual's utility counts equally when calculating the total or average utility.
Short-term vs. Long-term Utility: Differentiating between immediate consequences and those that might arise in the distant future.
Direct vs. Indirect Utilitarianism: Direct utilitarianism evaluates individual actions based on their consequences, while indirect utilitarianism evaluates rules or principles based on the consequences of them being widely adopted.
Satisficing Consequentialism: A variation where instead of maximizing utility, one only needs to achieve a satisfactory level of utility.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Value: Intrinsic value is the value something has in itself, while extrinsic value is the value something has because it leads to other good things.
Act vs. Omission Distinction: The difference between actively doing something (an act) and passively allowing something to happen (an omission). Some utilitarians argue there's no moral distinction, while others see a difference based on consequential outcomes.
Supererogation: Actions that are above and beyond the call of duty. While not always directly linked to utilitarianism, the concept is relevant in discussions about what utilitarianism can demand of individuals.
Demandingness Objection: A criticism of utilitarianism, suggesting that it can be overly demanding, requiring individuals to always act in ways that maximize utility, potentially at great personal cost.
Partiality: Favoring certain individuals (like friends or family) over others. Utilitarianism is often criticized for not allowing room for partiality.
Moral Calculus: The process of weighing and calculating the moral value or utility of different actions to determine the most ethical choice.
Optimal Population: A concept in utilitarian ethics discussing the ideal population size that would maximize total or average utility, considering both the number of individuals and their quality of life.
Utility Paradox: The idea that pursuing happiness directly might be counterproductive, while focusing on other pursuits could lead to greater happiness.
Temporal Bias: A bias that gives greater weight to immediate or near-future utilities and discounts distant-future utilities.
Agent-Neutrality: The idea that everyone's happiness or utility counts equally, irrespective of whose action causes it.
Agent-Relativity: The contrasting idea that individuals have special obligations or relationships (like to family or friends) that could allow for some bias in moral calculations.
Threshold Deontology: A mix of utilitarianism and deontological ethics that holds to certain rules up until a specific threshold of disutility is reached, after which utility maximization takes precedence.
Utility Comparison Problem: The challenge of comparing and measuring the utilities of different individuals to make an aggregate judgment.
Utilitarian Epistemology: The study of how utilitarians might come to know or measure utility, or how certain beliefs can lead to utility maximization.
Replacement Argument: A thought experiment in which one considers replacing existing beings with others who might have higher utility, challenging simplistic notions of maximizing utility.
Interpersonal Utility Comparison: The comparison of the utility levels or changes in utility levels between different individuals.
Welfarism: The belief that the welfare or well-being of individuals is the only relevant factor in moral judgments.
Rights-based Critique: An objection to utilitarianism which holds that the theory can justify the violation of individual rights if it leads to greater overall utility.
Experientialism: A viewpoint that only firsthand experiences (pleasure or pain) matter in the calculation of utility, rather than abstract or imagined scenarios.
Moral Realism: The belief that moral facts exist and can be known. Some utilitarians may argue that there are objective facts about what increases or decreases utility.
Motivational Hedonism: The belief that only pleasure or pain motivate individuals to act.
Normative Force: The idea that moral principles or rules have a binding force on individuals, compelling them to act in certain ways. For utilitarians, the principle of utility has normative force.
Impartial Spectator: An imagined neutral observer who evaluates actions without personal biases. This concept, while more commonly associated with moral sentimentalist Adam Smith, can also be applied to utilitarian evaluations.
Distributional Concerns: Issues related to how utility is distributed among individuals, rather than just the total or average utility.
Utilitarian Bioethics: Application of utilitarian principles in the field of bioethics, making judgments about medical treatments, research ethics, etc.
Environmental Utilitarianism: An application of utilitarian ethics to environmental concerns, evaluating actions based on their impact on the overall well-being of both humans and nature.
Expected Utility: In decision theory, the utility of an action is weighed against the probability of each possible outcome, leading to a measure of the "expected" utility of that action.
Existential Utility: The utility derived from existence itself, as opposed to specific pleasurable experiences or lack of suffering.
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Hedonism: Quantitative hedonism measures pleasure in terms of amount, whereas qualitative hedonism values different types of pleasures differently based on their quality.
Adaptive Preferences: Preferences that individuals develop as a response to their specific circumstances, especially limitations. Utilitarians must grapple with whether to take these at face value or correct for them.
Utilitarian Altruism: The idea of sacrificing one's own immediate utility for the greater utility of others.
Second-order Utilitarianism: Evaluating actions not directly on their outcomes, but based on how well they adhere to rules or principles that generally promote utility.
Ideal Utilitarianism: A version of utilitarianism proposed by G. E. Moore that suggests intrinsic values other than pleasure, such as beauty or knowledge, should be factored into utility calculations.
Moral Proximity: The idea that our moral obligations might be stronger to those closer to us, whether emotionally, geographically, or in other respects. This concept challenges strict utilitarian impartiality.
Utility Weights: Assigning different weights to different individuals' utilities, either to correct perceived biases or inequalities or to prioritize certain moral objectives.
Aggregative vs. Distributive Consequentialism: Aggregative forms focus on the total sum of utility, while distributive forms consider how utility is spread out among individuals.
Two-Level Utilitarianism: Proposed by R. M. Hare, it suggests that we should use intuitive moral thinking in most situations (often aligned with rule utilitarianism) and reserve critical, consequentialist thinking for more complex or novel moral problems.
Moral Distance: A concept similar to moral proximity, suggesting that our obligations might diminish with increased "distance" from others, be it emotional, geographical, or temporal.
Moral Uncertainty: The state of being unsure about what the right moral principles or values are. Some argue that under such uncertainty, one should maximize the expected moral value of their actions.
Utilitarian Justice: The concept of justice from a utilitarian perspective, which often focuses on outcomes that maximize overall well-being, even if they deviate from traditional notions of fairness or rights.
Pareto Improvement: A concept from economics that's relevant to utilitarian considerations. It refers to a change where at least one person's utility improves without reducing anyone else's utility.
Moral Luck: Situations where the moral evaluation of an action depends on factors beyond the agent's control. This poses challenges for utilitarians who focus on the outcomes of actions.
Maximin Principle: A decision rule often associated with Rawls' theory of justice, but with utilitarian implications. It suggests prioritizing the well-being of the worst-off individuals.
Epistemic Utilitarianism: The belief that beliefs should be adopted based on their expected utility, rather than their truth value.
Prior Existence Problem: A challenge for utilitarians on how to account for potential beings (like future generations) versus currently existing ones.
Remote Effects: Consequences of actions that are distant in time or space, which can be challenging to predict and factor into utilitarian calculations.
Utility Aggregation Problem: The challenge of determining how to sum up or combine individual utilities to reach a collective judgment.
Sidgwick's Dualism of Practical Reason: A dilemma posed by Henry Sidgwick, where personal self-interest seems to conflict with the greater good. He recognized a tension between promoting universal good and following personal ethics.
Total View vs. Average View: In population ethics, the "total view" argues that increasing the population is good if the additional lives have positive utility, while the "average view" focuses on ensuring the average level of well-being is maximized, regardless of population size.
Rights Utilitarianism: An approach that incorporates respect for individual rights into utilitarian calculations, suggesting that violations of these rights typically result in decreased utility.
Temporal Neutrality: The idea that well-being or utility is of equal moral importance regardless of when it occurs. This challenges notions that prioritize present well-being over future well-being.
Utilitarian Virtue Ethics: An integration of virtue ethics and utilitarianism, where virtuous characteristics are promoted because they generally lead to increased utility.
Incommensurability: The challenge in comparing and assessing the value of different kinds of goods or experiences, especially when they don't neatly translate into a single scale of utility.
Utility Discounting: A concept from economics and decision theory where future utilities are "discounted" compared to present ones. This can challenge strict utilitarianism, which typically values future and present utility equally.
Existential Utility: The intrinsic value or utility derived from existence itself, as distinct from specific experiences within that existence.
Relational Consequentialism: A variation of utilitarianism that focuses on the quality of interpersonal relationships as a key metric for utility.
Motivational Consequentialism: A perspective that emphasizes the motivations behind actions in assessing their utility, rather than just the outcomes.
Extended Preferences: A refinement of preference utilitarianism that takes into account not only an individual's explicit preferences but also preferences about preferences, and so on.
Utility Dynamics: The study of how utility can change over time, especially how short-term decisions might affect long-term utility.
Intrinsic Disutility: Harm or suffering that's considered negative in and of itself, without needing to be compared to or offset by positive utility.
Experience Machine Thought Experiment: Proposed by philosopher Robert Nozick, it's a challenge to hedonistic utilitarianism. It asks whether we would plug into a machine that provides endless pleasure if it means giving up real-world experiences.
Utility Cascades: Situations where an initial action that increases utility leads to a series of subsequent actions or events, resulting in even greater overall utility.
Inter-generational Justice: A concept that grapples with how to weigh the interests and utility of current generations against those of future generations.
Utilitarian Narrative Ethics: The application of utilitarian principles to narrative and storytelling, focusing on the utility derived from narratives in shaping moral views or providing catharsis.
Projectivism in Utilitarianism: The belief that our moral judgments project emotional responses onto the world, which can influence utilitarian calculations.
Resilience and Utility: Exploring how resilience in the face of challenges can influence utility calculations, particularly in long-term considerations.
Indirect Effects: Consequences of actions that aren't immediately apparent or direct but emerge through complex causal chains.
The Hedonistic Imperative: a philosophical treatise by David Pearce advocating for the use of biotechnology to eliminate suffering in all sentient beings and replace it with gradients of well-being.
Moral Paternalism: The idea that sometimes individuals or societies might limit a person's freedom for their own good. Within a utilitarian framework, this would be justified if it increases overall utility.
Rule-Worship: A criticism of rule utilitarianism which suggests that blindly following rules, even if they generally maximize utility, can sometimes lead to suboptimal or unjust outcomes.
Personal Utility vs. Social Utility: Differentiating between the utility derived by an individual from an action versus the overall utility that action brings to society.
Transitivity of Preferences: The assumption in some utilitarian calculations that if action A is preferred to B, and B is preferred to C, then A should be preferred to C. Challenges to this can complicate utilitarian decision-making.
Moral Commensurability: The idea that different types of values or goods can be measured on a single scale, which is crucial for utilitarian calculations.
Regret Theory: In decision theory, it's the idea that people anticipate regret when making choices, which can influence utility evaluations.
Utility Monsters: A philosophical thought experiment where a hypothetical being derives immense utility from resources, much more than average individuals. It poses challenges to utilitarianism by suggesting that maximizing utility could lead to disproportionate resources being given to such a being.
Preference Adaptation: The idea that people's preferences can change over time, often in response to their circumstances. This can complicate utilitarian calculations based on preference satisfaction.
Repugnant Conclusion: A term from population ethics referring to the idea that, under some forms of utilitarianism, a vast population with a very low quality of life could be seen as better than a smaller population with a high quality of life, due to the sheer total of utility.
Utility and Identity: The question of how changes to a person's identity, perhaps through future technological means or philosophical considerations, affect utility calculations.
Non-Human Animal Utility: The consideration of the welfare and experiences of non-human animals in utilitarian calculations.
Meta-utility: The utility derived from considering and reflecting upon one's own utility or the utility of situations. This adds another layer to the calculation of overall utility.
Utilitarian Aesthetics: The exploration of how beauty, art, and aesthetic experiences factor into utilitarian considerations.
Moral Hedging: Acting in ways that account for moral uncertainty, by trying to ensure good outcomes across different moral frameworks, including utilitarianism.
Utility and Time: The study of how the duration of pleasurable or painful experiences impacts their utility value.
Institutional Utilitarianism: Applying utilitarian principles to institutions, considering how they can be structured to maximize utility for society.
Emotion and Utility: Investigating the role of emotions in shaping our perceptions of utility and how they factor into utilitarian decisions.
Capability Approach: An approach related to utilitarianism which evaluates actions based on their impact on individuals' capabilities to achieve the kind of lives they value.
Scope Sensitivity: The challenge in utilitarianism of ensuring that moral judgments appropriately respond to the scale or number of individuals affected by an action.
Positive vs. Negative Rights: In the context of utilitarianism, positive rights require action (e.g., right to education), while negative rights require inaction (e.g., right to not be harmed). The fulfillment or violation of these rights can affect utility calculations.
Threshold Deontology: A hybrid ethical theory which is deontological up to a point (a threshold), after which utilitarian considerations can override deontological rules.
Utility Fog: A hypothetical collection of tiny robots that can manipulate their external and inter-robotic environments to maximize utility. Often discussed in the context of future technologies and utilitarian ethics.
Moral Realism vs. Anti-realism: These stances on the nature of moral truths can affect interpretations of utilitarianism. Realists believe in objective moral facts, while anti-realists deny them.
Moral Pluralism: The idea that there are multiple sources or types of moral value, which can be a challenge for utilitarian calculations that attempt to reduce everything to a single utility measure.
Act vs. Omission Distinction: The ethical difference between actively doing something and passively allowing something to happen. This distinction can have implications for utilitarian judgments.
Demandingness Objection: A criticism that utilitarianism can be overly demanding, requiring individuals to constantly act in ways that maximize utility, often at personal cost.
Motivational Hedonism: The belief that all human actions are motivated by a desire for pleasure or a desire to avoid pain.
Intrinsic vs. Instrumental Value: Intrinsic value is value that something has in itself, while instrumental value is value something has because it leads to something else of value. Utilitarianism often focuses on intrinsic value but can factor in instrumental value in utility calculations.
Moral Cognitivism vs. Non-cognitivism: This distinction concerns whether moral statements express factual propositions. Its implications can affect how one interprets the nature of utilitarian judgments.
Utilitarian Bioethics: Application of utilitarian principles to bioethical dilemmas, such as resource allocation in healthcare or the ethics of cloning.
Effective Altruism: A movement that uses evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others, which is often associated with and influenced by utilitarian thinking.
Subjunctive Utility: A hypothetical utility value associated with possible but non-actual outcomes, often considered in decision-making under uncertainty.
Moral Intuitionism: The belief that humans have intuitive moral knowledge. Some utilitarians argue that our moral intuitions align with utility maximization, while critics suggest there's a discrepancy.
Happiness vs. Contentment: In the context of utility, distinguishing between the active feeling of happiness and the passive state of contentment, both of which can contribute to well-being.
Utility and Autonomy: The balance between maximizing well-being and respecting individual autonomy, especially when autonomous choices might lead to decreased utility.
Suffering-focused Ethics: An ethical viewpoint that prioritizes the reduction of suffering over other moral considerations, related to negative utilitarianism.
Eudaimonic Well-being: A concept of well-being focused on living in accordance with one's true nature or virtue, which can be contrasted with hedonic well-being in utility discussions.
Normative Relativism: The belief that moral norms and values are relative to one's culture or society. Its contrast with universal principles, like utilitarianism, can lead to intriguing discussions.
Consequentialist Voting: A strategy where voters try to predict the outcomes of their votes and vote in a way that maximizes expected utility. Utilitarian Epistemology: The application of utilitarian principles to questions about knowledge, truth, and belief, evaluating them based on their utility.
Moral Proximity: The idea that we might have greater moral obligations to those closer to us, either physically or relationally, which can complicate straightforward utilitarian calculations.
Epistemic Utility: Utility derived from beliefs or states of knowledge, reflecting the value of truth and understanding.
Moral Exemplars: Individuals who exemplify high moral standards. Within a utilitarian framework, they'd be those whose actions consistently aim to maximize utility.
Existential Utility: The value or utility derived from the mere fact of existence or being, irrespective of the quality of that existence.
Qualitative Hedonism: The belief that there are qualitatively different pleasures, not just differences in intensity or duration. This contrasts with quantitative hedonism, which sees all pleasures as commensurable.
Moral Extensionism: The idea of extending moral consideration to a broader range of entities, which in a utilitarian framework, means considering the utility of more beings or entities.
Risk-Neutral, Risk-Averse, Risk-Seeking: In decision theory and economics, these terms describe different attitudes towards risk when evaluating utility. They can impact how utilitarians assess actions with uncertain outcomes.
Moral Calculus: A systematic approach to evaluating the ethical dimensions of actions, often associated with utilitarianism's effort to quantify and maximize utility.
Preference Formation: The processes and factors that shape our preferences. For preference utilitarians, understanding these processes can be crucial.
Inherent Worth: The idea that certain beings or entities have worth in and of themselves, independent of their utility.
Utilitarian Justice: The concept of justice as framed by utilitarian principles, often emphasizing the greatest good for the greatest number.
Consequentialist Rights: Rights that are grounded in the beneficial outcomes they produce, aligning with a utilitarian perspective.
Aggregative vs. Distributive Concerns: In utilitarianism, the tension between maximizing total utility (aggregative) and ensuring utility is distributed fairly among individuals (distributive).
Experientialism: The philosophical stance emphasizing the importance of lived experiences. In utilitarianism, it might refer to the actual experiences of pleasure and pain rather than hypothetical or potential experiences.
Moral Proportionalism: An ethical stance suggesting that moral norms should be applied proportionally to situations. This idea can resonate with utilitarian flexibility in applying principles based on outcomes.
Ideal Utilitarianism: A variation of utilitarianism that asserts other values, such as beauty or knowledge, can have intrinsic value alongside pleasure and the absence of suffering.
Temporal Neutrality: The idea that the utility of an outcome should be valued equally, regardless of when it occurs. This contrasts with views that give preferential treatment to present over future utility.
Consequentialist Virtue Ethics: A framework combining consequentialism with virtue ethics, suggesting that virtues are valuable because they generally lead to good outcomes.
Total vs. Average Utility: In population ethics, the debate between maximizing the total utility of a population (even if it means more people with lower individual utility) and maximizing average utility (even if it means fewer people).
Utilitarian Narrative Ethics: The application of utilitarian principles to narratives and stories, examining how they can shape moral understanding and guide actions to maximize utility.
Utility Discounting: The practice of reducing the present value of future utility, often discussed in the context of economic evaluations and long-term ethical considerations.
Conditional Utility: Utility that is contingent upon certain conditions or circumstances.
Moral Prioritarianism: The ethical stance that prioritizes benefiting those who are worse off. Though distinct from utilitarianism, it can be seen as a way to address utility distribution concerns.
Teleological Suspension: A concept often attributed to Kierkegaard, suggesting that ethical rules (like maximizing utility) can be suspended for a higher purpose or divine command.
Moral Landscape: A term popularized by Sam Harris suggesting that there are objective peaks (high points of well-being) and valleys (low points) in the possible experiences of conscious beings. While not strictly utilitarian, the concept resonates with utilitarian concerns about maximizing well-being.
Descriptive vs. Normative Ethics: Descriptive ethics describes what people believe to be morally right or wrong, while normative ethics prescribes what people ought to do. Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory.
Hedonic Treadmill: The psychological observation that humans quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative life events. This concept can challenge simplistic utility calculations based on external circumstances.
Teleological Ethics: Ethical theories focused on the ends or outcomes of actions. Utilitarianism is a form of teleological ethics.
Utility and Transhumanism: The consideration of how technological advancements that augment human capacities (physical, intellectual, emotional) can impact utility calculations.
Moral Residue: The lingering feelings of guilt or unease when one believes they've made the best moral choice possible, but still feel they've violated a moral principle. This is especially relevant to hard utilitarian choices that may lead to harm.
Implicit Utilitarianism: Situations where individuals or societies apply utilitarian principles unconsciously or without explicitly identifying them as utilitarian.
Moral Dilemmas: Situations where moral principles conflict, often discussed in the context of utilitarianism when the principle of utility clashes with other moral intuitions or rules.
Utility and Artificial Intelligence: The exploration of how AI systems might be programmed to make decisions based on utilitarian calculations and the ethical implications of such decisions.
Gradients of Well-being: A spectrum of positive experiences without any negative ones. Life can consist of varying degrees of happiness and well-being without any suffering.
Invincible Well-being: A state where an individual is biologically incapable of experiencing suffering, having been engineered for constant, albeit varied, positive experiences.
Paradise Engineering: The use of biotechnological and pharmacological means to create lives filled exclusively with positive experiences.
Post-Darwinian Era: A future period in which natural selection is no longer the primary driving force behind the evolution of sentient beings, having been replaced or augmented by deliberate design.
CRISPR/Cas9 and Genetic Engineering: Modern biotechnologies that might be used in the future to edit the genes of sentient beings to reduce or eliminate their capacity for suffering.
Reprogramming Predators: A radical proposal to genetically or biomechanically alter natural predators to reduce or eliminate the suffering they cause to prey animals.
Phasing out the Carnivorous Food Chain: An ethical and biotechnological goal of replacing the existing food chain, which is based on predation and suffering, with one that doesn't involve suffering.
Post-Human Transition: The evolution or transformation from our current human state to a future state where humans have been biologically or technologically altered to experience only gradients of well-being.
Abolitionist Project: The grand overarching ambition to eradicate suffering in all sentient life using biotechnological interventions. It's not just about human well-being but extends to all animals and any potential sentient beings.
Technological Utopianism: The belief that technology can be used to create a near-perfect or utopian society.
Ethical Bioengineering: The deliberate redesign of biological organisms in line with ethical goals, such as eliminating suffering in the case of the Hedonistic Imperative.
Neuroarchitecture: The structure and configuration of neural circuits and networks in the brain. Modifying the neuroarchitecture might be a way to eliminate experiences of suffering and enhance positive states.
Hedonic Set-Point: The baseline or default level of well-being or happiness that an individual typically returns to, even after positive or negative life events. Pearce discusses shifting this set point to a higher level of well-being through genetic and neurological modifications.
Ecosystem Engineering: Altering entire ecosystems to reduce or eliminate suffering, such as redesigning food chains or modifying the behaviors of predatory animals.
Mood Enrichment: Using biotechnological methods to enhance the baseline mood or emotional state of individuals, leading to a more consistently positive or joyous experience of life.
Genetic Recalibration of the Hedonic Treadmill: Adjusting the genetic factors that determine an individual's hedonic set point, so they experience a higher baseline of positive emotions and well-being.
Compasionate Biology: A future form of biology where the guiding principle is compassion, and the primary objective is the welfare and well-being of all sentient entities.
Benevolent World Exploder: An idea discussed in the context of negative utilitarianism where, theoretically, if one could press a button to instantly and painlessly end all suffering by ending all existence, it might be the ethical thing to do. Pearce uses this to emphasize the depth of commitment to ending suffering.
Biohappiness: A term that might encapsulate the overarching goal of the Hedonistic Imperative – a state of existence where biology is intrinsically tied to happiness and well-being.
Pleasure Principle 2.0: An upgraded, future version of Freud's pleasure principle where beings not only seek pleasure and avoid pain but exist in states where pleasure is the default.
Suffering-Focused Ethics: An ethical framework that prioritizes the mitigation and elimination of suffering above all else.
Post-Suffering Civilization: A vision of a future society where suffering, both physical and mental, has been entirely or almost entirely eradicated.
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