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    Without a deep self/other distinction, the separateness o... — Carmelics
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    Supports→The separateness of persons objection to utilitarianism is not serious, because the metaphysical distinction between persons that the objection relies on is not a deep fact.

    Without a deep self/other distinction, the separateness of persons objection cannot generate a principled asymmetry between aggregating welfare within a life and aggregating welfare across lives.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.If persons lack metaphysically deep boundaries, the intuition supporting asymmetry between intra-life and inter-life aggregation loses its foundation.
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    • 2.Aggregating welfare across time within a life and across distinct lives are structurally identical operations if no fundamental self/other distinction exists.
      ?

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    • 3.Without deep personhood distinctions, rejecting cross-life aggregation while accepting intra-life aggregation appears arbitrary rather than principled.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Psychological continuity and narrative unity within a life create real asymmetries even without metaphysically deep selves, justifying intra-life aggregation.
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    • 2.The separateness of persons objection relies on epistemic/practical distinctness of persons, not metaphysical depth—these survive without deep selves.
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    • 3.Functional differences between integrated lifespans and disconnected persons ground asymmetries independently of whether selves are fundamentally deep.
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    Key Terms

    Principled asymmetry(referring to a distinction between genetics and environment)
    A justified or logical reason why two things should be treated as fundamentally different from each other.
    Self/other distinction(as the foundational principle that limits government power)
    The basic boundary between yourself and other people—the idea that you are a separate person from everyone else, which is why the government needs a reason to control your behavior but also can't control others without justification.
    aggregating welfare(as used in ethics)
    Adding up or combining all the well-being, happiness, or benefits of different people to get a total amount.
    separateness of persons objection(as used in ethics)
    A philosophical criticism arguing that if we treat people as fundamentally separate individuals, we can't simply add up everyone's happiness as if they were one person.
    welfare(Critique of Stein's strict health-welfare correlation)
    A subjective notion of well-being that is affected by multiple domains, not health alone.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Consequentialism1 linkedPersonal Identity1 linked

    Related

    Aggregating welfare across time within a life and across distinct lives are stru...Functional differences between integrated lifespans and disconnected persons gro...If persons lack metaphysically deep boundaries, the intuition supporting asymmet...Psychological continuity and narrative unity within a life create real asymmetri...
    +3 moreShow less
    The separateness of persons objection relies on epistemic/practical distinctness...The separateness of persons objection to utilitarianism is not serious, because ...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Without deep personhood distinctions, rejecting cross-life aggregation while acc...