The Slow Clap Phenomenon + Professor Procrastinate
According to Actualism, whether Professor Procrastinate ought to accept the invitation depends on...
What will in fact happen if Professor Procrastinate accepts it.
In the All or Nothing problem, it seems plausible that it is morally permissible for you not to save both children, and that it is morally wrong for you to save only one child.
What is the problem with these two plausible claims?
Together they imply that you ought to save neither child rather than save only one, which seems implausible.
What is Longtermism?
The idea that positively influencing the long-term future is the most significant moral priority of our time.
Which principle implies that we always have a reason to bring people into existence?
The Total Principle
What is Benatar's central claim?
(Or: what does anti-natalism say?)
Coming into existence is always a harm, even when life is good.
What kind of actions are slow-clap behaviors?
They are blameworthy when omitted, but not praiseworthy when performed.
Moller's argument relies on which phenomenon?
Normative uncertainty
"Distance in time is like distance in space" (p. 4) -- what does MacAskill mean by that?
Just as people matter regardless of where they live, they matter regardless of when they live.
According to Finneron-Burns, what two things are plausible to say about the Hell on Earth scenario?
1. It shows that human flourishing is essential to what humanity is.
2. In this scenario, the end of humanity would be a good thing.
What is the asymmetry that Benatar's argument relies on?
The absence of pain is good, even if no one experiences it, but the absence of pleasure is not bad (unless someone is deprived of that pleasure).
According to Possibilism, whether Professor Procrastinate ought to accept the invitation depends on...
What could happen if Professor Procrastinate accepts it.
Horton's solution to the All or Nothing problem relies on which principle?
If you were not willing to save either child, it would be permissible for you not to save either, but because you are willing to save one, you ought to save both.
MacAskill considers two reasons to think that present people matter more than future people. What are they?
1. Partiality: we have stronger relationships with present people.
2. Reciprocity: present people benefit us.
What is the difference between the Total Principle and the Average Principle?
The Average Principle aims to maximize the average well-being across all people, while the Total Principle aims to maximize the total quantity of well-being.
According to Benatar, why can't we compare the pain and pleasure in a person's life in order to determine whether that person's existence is better than non-existence?
Comparing the pain and pleasure in a person's life only tells us how good or bad the person’s life is, but doesn't tell us anything about the comparison between existence and non-existence.
According to Johnson King, a slow-clap behavior is a behavior that...
The agent would experience the decision to perform it as a no-brainer, as long as she cared adequately; and that the agent would perform it, as long as she was trying adequately.
According to Moller, what is the main reason to think that there is a considerable margin for error when it comes to abortions?
Moral reasoning is complex, and it is easy to get things wrong.
MacAskill considers two reasons to think that present people matter more than future people. How does he respond to these considerations?
These considerations justify giving extra weight to present people, but don't justify ignoring future people's interests.
Finneron-Burns ultimately argues that humanity should be defined as...
Human bodies with human abilities, achievements and flourishing.
Why does Benatar think most people falsely believe their own existence is not a harm, and do not regret their existence?
Because they have adaptive preferences.
According to Immerman, whether Prof. Procrastinate ought to accept the invitation depends on...
The relative goodness of declining the invitation.
What are two implications of the Optimific Altruism principle?
1. There are no supererogatory actions
2. If you're willing to give to charity, you ought to give to a charity that would use your donation to do the most good.
According to MacAskill, what makes our current era unusually important from a longtermist perspective?
We are living through an era of rapid technological, environmental, and social change, which gives us the power to shape the future significantly.
What does it mean that "better than" is transitive?
That for any three possibilities A, B and C, if A is better than B and B is better than C, then A is better than C.
What is one implication of Benatar's argument?
It is preferable that humanity will die out; that no more people exist.