“Well do you care about the rest of humanity enough to send yourself to hell?” Nope. Also, even if I did endorse that decision, it probably still wouldn’t be in my own interest. IMO that decision would be a simple mistake with respect to my self-interest. My empathy is not powerful enough for avoiding some guilt to be worth a million years of torture.
“Or adopting policies where you only get sent to hell in X universes rather than Y?” In the hypothetical, there is only one universe and two buttons. Any other universes are figments of my imagination. You’re suggesting I imagine a veil of ignorance, and make make moral decisions from behind the veil of ignorance. But assuming a veil of ignorance assumes utilitarianism = egoism, which is what you’re trying to prove. In reality I have one life and I know where I stand in life. I don’t need to make decisions from behind a veil of ignorance. I can steal knowing it makes me richer, without having to wonder whether I’ll end up the thief or the victim. I know I’m the thief, because I’m the one choosing to steal.
So, it seems you endorse a utility function that puts more weight on others than your actual preferences. Wouldn’t you prefer to endorse a different utility function?
“Well do you care about the rest of humanity enough to send yourself to hell?” Nope. Also, even if I did endorse that decision, it probably still wouldn’t be in my own interest. IMO that decision would be a simple mistake with respect to my self-interest. My empathy is not powerful enough for avoiding some guilt to be worth a million years of torture.
“Or adopting policies where you only get sent to hell in X universes rather than Y?” In the hypothetical, there is only one universe and two buttons. Any other universes are figments of my imagination. You’re suggesting I imagine a veil of ignorance, and make make moral decisions from behind the veil of ignorance. But assuming a veil of ignorance assumes utilitarianism = egoism, which is what you’re trying to prove. In reality I have one life and I know where I stand in life. I don’t need to make decisions from behind a veil of ignorance. I can steal knowing it makes me richer, without having to wonder whether I’ll end up the thief or the victim. I know I’m the thief, because I’m the one choosing to steal.
So, it seems you endorse a utility function that puts more weight on others than your actual preferences. Wouldn’t you prefer to endorse a different utility function?
I don’t understand what you mean.