From 97da9984c6f4767fd0c050ab12972536fe549c38 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jet Hughes Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2022 14:56:57 +1200 Subject: [PATCH] vault backup: 2022-07-10 14:56:57 --- content/notes/hypotheticals.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/content/notes/hypotheticals.md b/content/notes/hypotheticals.md index 7fae35b95..0d159c40b 100644 --- a/content/notes/hypotheticals.md +++ b/content/notes/hypotheticals.md @@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ tags: # Is it immoral to keep free will from people if you had the power to grant it. -This is really two questions. Firstly, is free will a good thing? Secondly, if it is a good thing — is withholding it immoral? Before I answer these questions, Is deciding things for other people moral or immoral? There's no way to know what people want, and I don't think you have the right to decide for them. To answer the first question, I think each person must come to their own conclusion. This means it would be immoral no matter what decision you make. However, from a purely consequentialist perspective, if we assume that most people think free will is a good thing, there is a net positive amount of "goodness" that results from forcing free will on everyone — even those who don't want it. Therefore, enforcing free will is a moral thing to do. The \ No newline at end of file +This is really two questions. Firstly, is free will a good thing? Secondly, if it is a good thing — is withholding it immoral? Before I answer these questions, Is deciding things for other people moral or immoral? There's no way to know what people want, and I don't think you have the right to decide for them. To answer the first question, I think each person must come to their own conclusion. This means it would be immoral no matter what decision you make. However, from a purely consequentialist perspective, if we assume that most people think free will is a good thing, there is a net positive amount of "goodness" that results from forcing free will on everyone — even those who don't want it. Therefore, enforcing free will is a moral thing to do. The questions remains however, of whether it is immoral to not do a moral thing. My opinion is that it would not me immoral. For example, I don't think it is immoral for me to not volunteer for 3 days a week picking up trash. I think there is a difference in the two circumstances though which is the effort required to do the moral thing. I also dont think it would be immoral to not pick up a piece of trash if there was a bin nearby, but I do think it littering is immoral. This implies that there is a line between immoral and moral that depends of the effort of the moral action and the amount ogThus the answer to your hypothetical, from a consequentialist perspective, depend \ No newline at end of file