Negative utilitarianism

Abstract

Negative utilitarianism (NU), which posits that the least avoidable suffering for all should be the moral aim, faces difficulties in providing guidance on certain ethical issues. The author offers an example of a ruler wielding a weapon capable of painlessly destroying humanity. Using NU, this action would be morally justified since it would eliminate future suffering. However, most people would consider such an act wicked. Positive utilitarianism, which aims to maximize happiness, provides a more robust framework for addressing these issues. While NU may be advantageous as a conservative principle due to the general agreement on evils, it can lead to absurd and immoral judgments when applied to questions of life and death. Combining NU with other principles such as ‘Tolerate the tolerant’ and ‘No tyranny’ does not fully resolve the conflicts that arise in certain scenarios, such as the example of a benevolent world-exploder. – AI-generated abstract.