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Originally Posted by jwb
so your objection is that I can't accurately predict the suffering that will be caused/prevented
I would argue that is also true of most of the thought experiments meant to argue in favor of utilitarianism.
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How is that an argument? That's something I was saying in the other experiments.
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E.G. your example of killing one child to save 100 people. That 1 person you kill might end up doing more to alleviate suffering than the other 100 combined. Or they might be a monster. Or somewhere in between. There is no way of knowing.
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I acknowledged the differing variables already.
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Let's say for the sake of argument (since all of this is already based on unrealistic hypothetical situations) that you somehow know for a fact that if you kill him you will alleviate more suffering than you cause. Is it still wrong?
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I'm going to assume that you're talking about the homeless person.
If the homeless person didn't want to die then it's going to be immoral. It's not your choice to make and thinking you have that authority is immoral. If the homeless person wants to endure their suffering let them. If the homeless person wants to end it I assume they have all the ability to do that them self.