This seems to come up somewhat often, and I figured it would be useful to have my answer(s) gathered in a convenient place. Some of these thoughts are taken from things I’ve previously said on LessWrong; others are new.

Summary: In this post, I explain why I am not a utilitarian. I’ll start by explaining why I’d even consider utilitarianism in the first place, and then I’ll say why I reject it.

NOTE: This post does not end with me advancing my own complete, coherent, ethical framework. Sorry. Truth be told, my ethical views are not anywhere near completely fleshed-out. I know the general shape, but beyond that I’m more sure about what I don’t believe—what objections and criticisms I have to other people’s views—than about what I do believe. However, utilitarianism is so prevalent among the rationalist set, and (in my opinion) so wrong, and so dangerous if taken for granted, that saying “I don’t know what the right answer is, but it’s definitely not this” is important and justified.

1. Some quick definitions

People use some of these terms in diverse ways. The way I use them is basically the way that the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy does, and in my experience this usage is prevalent among professional philosophers: Read more...