This sort of utilitarian thinking focused entirely on ones own goals without considering the goals of others is what leads people to believe that they should cheat on all of their tests as much as they want. If tests in school are only for signalling and the knowledge is unimportant, then you should do as little work as possible to maximize your test scores, including buying essays, looking over shoulders, paying others to take tests for you, the whole works.
Edit: I am not saying I totally disagree with this sort of thinking. I would describe myself presently as on the fence over whether one should just go ahead and be a sociopath in favor of utilitarian goals. It makes me a little bit uncomfortable, but on the other hand it seems to be the logical result. Many people bring in other considerations to try to bring it back to moral “normalcy” but they generally strike me as ad hoc and not very convincing.
This sort of utilitarian thinking focused entirely on ones own goals without considering the goals of others is what leads people to believe that they should cheat on all of their tests as much as they want. If tests in school are only for signalling and the knowledge is unimportant, then you should do as little work as possible to maximize your test scores, including buying essays, looking over shoulders, paying others to take tests for you, the whole works.
Edit: I am not saying I totally disagree with this sort of thinking. I would describe myself presently as on the fence over whether one should just go ahead and be a sociopath in favor of utilitarian goals. It makes me a little bit uncomfortable, but on the other hand it seems to be the logical result. Many people bring in other considerations to try to bring it back to moral “normalcy” but they generally strike me as ad hoc and not very convincing.