The murderer wants to murder the victim, the victim doesn’t want to be murdered.
Murder isn’t a foundational desire. It’s only a means to some other end. And usually isn’t even a good way to accomplish its ultimate end! It’s risky, for one thing. So usually it’s a false desire: if they knew the consequences of this murder compared to all other choices available, and they were correctly thinking about how to most certainly get what they really ultimately want, they’d almost always see a better choice.
(But even if it were foundational, not a means to some other end, you could imagine some simulation of murder satisfying both the “murderer”’s need to do such a thing and everyone else’s need for safety. Even the “murderer” would have a better chance of satisfaction, because they would be far less likely to be killed or imprisoned prior to satisfaction.)
since the same act can increase one person’s utility and reduce anothers, there is no unambiguous way to label an arbitrry outcome.
Well first, in the most trivial way, you can unambiguously label an outcome as “good for X”. If it really is (it might not be, after all, the consequences of achieving or attempting murder might be more terrible for the would-be murderer than choosing not to attempt murder).
It works the same with (some? all?) other adjectives too. For example: soluble. Is sugar objectively soluble? Depends what you try to dissolve it in, and under what circumstances. It is objectively soluble in pure water at room temperature. It won’t dissolve in gasoline.
Second, in game theory you’ll find sometimes there are options that are best for everyone. But even when there isn’t, you can still determine which choices for the individuals maximize their chance of satisfaction and such. Objectively speaking, those will be the best choices they can make (again, that’s what it means for something to be a good choice). And morality is about making the best choices.
It can be instrumental or terminal, as can most other criminal impulses.
But even if it were foundational, not a means to some other end, you could imagine some simulation of murder satisfying both the “murderer”’s need to do such a thing and everyone else’s need for safety. Even the “murderer” would have a better chance of satisfaction, because they would be far less likely to be killed or imprisoned prior to satisfaction
You can’t solve all ethical problems by keeping everyone in permanent simulation.
Well first, in the most trivial way, you can unambiguously label an outcome as “good for X”. If it really is
That’s no good. You can’t arrive at workable ethics by putting different weightings on the same actions from different perspectives. X stealing money form Y is good for X and bad for Y, so why disregard Y’s view? An act is either permitted or forbidden, punished or praised. You can’t say it is permissible-for-X but forbidden-for-Y if it involves both of them.
It works the same with (some? all?) other adjectives too.
No, there’s no uniform treatment of all predicates. Some are one-place, some are two-place. For instance, aesthetic choices can usually be fulfilled on a person-by-person basis.
Second, in game theory you’ll find sometimes there are options that are best for everyone.
To be precise, you sometimes find solutions that leave everyone better off, and more often find solutions that leave the average person better off.
Objectively speaking, those will be the best choices they can make (again, that’s what it means for something to be a good choice). And morality is about making the best choices.
Too vague. For someone who likes killing ot kill a lot of people is the best choice for them, but not the best ethical choice.
Murder isn’t a foundational desire. It’s only a means to some other end. And usually isn’t even a good way to accomplish its ultimate end! It’s risky, for one thing. So usually it’s a false desire: if they knew the consequences of this murder compared to all other choices available, and they were correctly thinking about how to most certainly get what they really ultimately want, they’d almost always see a better choice.
(But even if it were foundational, not a means to some other end, you could imagine some simulation of murder satisfying both the “murderer”’s need to do such a thing and everyone else’s need for safety. Even the “murderer” would have a better chance of satisfaction, because they would be far less likely to be killed or imprisoned prior to satisfaction.)
Well first, in the most trivial way, you can unambiguously label an outcome as “good for X”. If it really is (it might not be, after all, the consequences of achieving or attempting murder might be more terrible for the would-be murderer than choosing not to attempt murder).
It works the same with (some? all?) other adjectives too. For example: soluble. Is sugar objectively soluble? Depends what you try to dissolve it in, and under what circumstances. It is objectively soluble in pure water at room temperature. It won’t dissolve in gasoline.
Second, in game theory you’ll find sometimes there are options that are best for everyone. But even when there isn’t, you can still determine which choices for the individuals maximize their chance of satisfaction and such. Objectively speaking, those will be the best choices they can make (again, that’s what it means for something to be a good choice). And morality is about making the best choices.
It can be instrumental or terminal, as can most other criminal impulses.
You can’t solve all ethical problems by keeping everyone in permanent simulation.
That’s no good. You can’t arrive at workable ethics by putting different weightings on the same actions from different perspectives. X stealing money form Y is good for X and bad for Y, so why disregard Y’s view? An act is either permitted or forbidden, punished or praised. You can’t say it is permissible-for-X but forbidden-for-Y if it involves both of them.
No, there’s no uniform treatment of all predicates. Some are one-place, some are two-place. For instance, aesthetic choices can usually be fulfilled on a person-by-person basis.
To be precise, you sometimes find solutions that leave everyone better off, and more often find solutions that leave the average person better off.
Too vague. For someone who likes killing ot kill a lot of people is the best choice for them, but not the best ethical choice.